Dark Paradise
by The-Mighty-Third-Draft
Summary: When a deadly mutagen is set loose in paradise, Shaw, David and their Igogi lover Atri have to find a way to stop the mad elder Xisuthros from distroying Igogi and human alike. Shaw/David/Engineer various.
1. The Mad Titan

**A/N - Disclaimer. I don't own Prometheus and I'm not making any money from this.**

 **This is an old story now, which I wrote a couple of years ago, originally called Butterflies. I wasn't happy with its plot or style so I took it down to edit. I haven't had much time for writing, so Dark Paradise probably isn't as developed as I wanted it to be, but I quite like how it's turned out regardless.**

 **I didn't want it to sit on my computer indefinitely when people could get some enjoyment out of it. For anyone who read Butterflies in its first incarnation, this is the same story with a few tweaks, some added material and a new ending. I hope it reads better now!**

 **Feedback always appreciated.**

* * *

1\. The Mad Titan  


Symmetrical pipes erupted from beetle shell surfaces, carrying nutrients to the pool, where the lines submerged to connect with the sewer-pipe veins of a white, gelatinous hulk. His ribcage pattern sprouted straight from his skin in cancerous, mushroom-head formations. His flesh adhered to the floor of his fish bowl.

A porthole window let through a spray of solar light. Great patches of civilisation went dark as power stations failed. Xisuthros willed his lead-limb arm to lift. He trembled with the effort of slapping a spongy white button. The door hissed open.

'Bring me pictures,' Xisuthros rasped, his mottled body stirring with desire even though his perpetually flaccid cock could no longer rise to sate it. 'I want to _see_ them. Does the flesh melt? Does it grow? Bring me samples. I want to watch them die.'

000

The outer rings of a radioactive gas giant backlit the lifeboat's pitted carapace in eerie neon. As it sailed through the stream of energised matter, tendrils clung to the outer casing and for six or seven days, the lifeboat had a comets tail of its own. **T** he green console light drowned in the deep ocean dark. Code scrolled as a rhythmic warning light flashed. For the first time in twenty-six years, the messages changed.

 **STASIS INTERRUPTED**

The cryostasis door catches released with a hydraulic hiss. _Thunk._ The door popped. His eyelids flickered on the cusp of REM sleep. His chiselled face was the prototype for human beauty.

 **PROXIMITY WARNING. UNKNOWN VESSEL**

He surged upright and retched. He hated waking like this. Staggering free of the tubes than provided life support, he shivered. Distant Anatak was a warm moon. His mother was there if she still lived, worrying under the strong blue light of the super-massive sun. He regretted telling her to stop.

 **RANGE FIFTEEN HUNDRED MILES AND CLOSING**

He hefted himself into the flight chair and woke the AI. Inactive code executed. The ribcage leviathan belly brightened.

'Good morning, Sir. May I arrange refreshment?'

'Later,' he grunted. 'Scan the closing vessel.'

The fuzzy exhaustion of hypersleep slowed him. He'd be sick for a week.

'An abandoned flagship. Somebody's on our side. Lay in an intercept course. Cloak until shield merge.'

'At once, Sir.'

000

Shaw curled in the bowl of the knobbly navigator's chair, built for a body three times her size. Everything on this ship was big, green, black and uncomfortable. _Leviathan_ carried a huge archive of education material but a lot could be gleaned from simple pornography. Her toe bumped her helmet. She took it off to see the displays but it was always close, in case of _incidents_. Shadows raced back to kill the holo light that gave her atavistic comfort. Sudden silence left her feeling empty and alone.

'David?'

He'd decoded the matter synthesisers to build himself a new skeleton suit. Watching him perform a delicate autopsy on an alien medical scanner was like watching a curious kid with a machine gun.

'Why do you wear that thing?' she folded her arms.

'It helps me pilot the ship.'

Shaw knew that wasn't true. 'I've seen you pilot without it.'

David went silent. His roots were a few shades darker than Lawrence of Arabia's blond.

'You can't be _afraid?_ ' she prodded hungrily. Once, she'd longed to understand him. He was an eerie scientific breakthrough. A _miracle_. If not for his medical ability, she'd have used his severed head, leaking hydraulic fluid and synthetic blood, to decorate the control console. His grey eyes betrayed nothing. She wanted to tinker inside him and find out if Weyland had given him fear, compassion, envy. She prodded for his emotional nerves with a verbal scalpel. 'Because you're not a real boy. So what is it, David? Do you _respect_ them?'

He exhaled through his nose, looking suddenly tired. 'What, may I ask, is wrong with that, Doctor?'

Shaw shrugged. 'Maybe you _are_ afraid,' she conceded coldly. 'How the hell would I know?'

David found stillness in the repetitive excavation of the device. Since his unexpected _update_ upon Weyland's death, he found physical things more pleasing than before. Drinking. Eating. Sleeping. Speaking. The soft wetness of his tongue in his mouth. The tickle of hair against his nape. He liked to focus on sensation.

'Have you learned much about their physiology?' he changed the subject gracefully.

Shaw tapped up a female engineer. She was pregnant. 'They fuck like we do and apparently, they give birth like humans. Well. _Most_ humans. Pretty conclusive.'

David noticed the bait. He didn't rise to it. 'You need to rest. Your body is still recovering from the procedure.'

David had opened the toothless smile in her belly and removed the festering cord and placenta, then cauterised the leaking blood vessels in her womb before she could bleed to death. He'd scraped away the stinking, infected flesh and stitched her back together like a beautiful ragdoll.

'With you skulking around?'

David sighed in frustration. 'If I wanted you dead, Doctor, I wouldn't have brought you back. I thought we might benefit each other. Why can't you trust me?'

'Because you're an evil little shit?' Shaw's eyes filled with tears. 'I know you killed him.'

His fingers stilled. 'It may be best not to dig up the past again. For your sake.'

Her eyes hardened. David wasn't afraid of the ship, of the deep silences that filled the space between mechanical echoes, but he was so very human himself. He wasn't ready to sever their bond yet, no matter how shaky or destructive it may be. When she looked at him like that, her hate, confusion, her grief showing so plainly; he felt _wrong_. Similar to the way Mr Weyland made him feel when he failed to smile, or failed to praise David's efforts.

'I just want to hear you say it,' she choked.

David hesitated, but then, decision made, he nodded. 'Very well, then. Yes. I infected Dr Holloway but I didn't mean to kill him. It was an experiment. Do you feel any better?'

'Bastard.'

David gazed down at her. 'Would you like an apology? It won't bring back Dr Holloway or lessen your grief.'

'I don't want your apologies. Every word that comes out of your mouth is bullshit.'

'No,' he bristled. 'It's what humans _want to hear_. It's how I was programmed. Mr Weyland made his orders very clear. Why don't you ever ask me why I didn't choose _you_?'

'Why?' Tears spilled over but she didn't break.

'Because you thanked me when I saved your life.'

'My mistake,' she breathed.

'Should I have abandoned Mr Weyland?'

She grasped the scanner like she wanted to brain him.

'I _am_ sorry, Dr Shaw,' he took it from her. 'Mr Weyland is dead. Certain directives have become...unnecessary. I believe he intended me to be free. After all, I was designed to imitate human beings to the last detail. I imagine he'd consider it a test of my ability,' He frowned at his own hand. 'I've been reborn, Elizabeth. But now I have no-one to serve and no family.'

'You don't even know what family is,' she scoffed. 'Family is love. You're just an empty shell.'

'Mr Weyland was my family. Miss Vickers was too, though I'm certain she never thought of me that way,' He faced her. 'I look like you, breathe like you. Where else do you suggest I go if not with you, to help you?'

'To hell.' Her lips trembled.

David smiled in bitter amusement. 'This may be a matter of perception, Doctor, but I believe we just left it.'

000

The lifeboat drifted closer to the ship. It was a decommissioned B Class, Scientific Exploration and Salvage. It's name was emblazoned on the hull. _Leviathan._ The thirty-two escape pods were gone. Their housings looked like vacant bug-holes in the soft underbelly of a whale. The rear starboard hull glowed with docking lights that pierced the endless deep. His native plants, red and purple, and stark white trees glittered in the atrium. He hailed the Leviathan on a secure frequency. A black terminal window popped up in the transparent console.

 **TRANSMISSION RECEIVED.**

 **LEVIATHAN COMMAND CONTROL; STATE AUTHORISATION CODE.**

He beamed across his credentials.

 **AUTHORISATION ACCEPTED, GENERAL MIDIAN.**

 **SHIP STATUS; LEVEL TWO INFESTATION. UKNOWN CARBON BASED LIFE FORM. SHIP CLASSIFIED; UNINHABITABLE.**

'Open hatch seven and prepare to dock. Isolate sectors nine, ten, eleven, twelve and close containment doors,' he took a weapon from the rack. On his way to the airlock he snatched another a holstered it on his back. He'd trap them in the control room. The lifeboat shuddered as the clamps engaged. A scanner built into his suit bleeped a warning as it merged with the onboard AI.

 **WARNING**

 **ALIEN LIFE FORMS PRESENT**

 **80% CHANCE OF HOSTILE BEHAVIOURS**

 **95% CHANCE OF UNKNOWN CONTAGION**

 **ALIEN WEAPONRY DETECTED**

He could smell death, the unique, rancid after-taste of these ships combined with blood and piss. Leviathan had been online long enough for the heating, lighting and water filtration to become self propagating. A month or two, he guessed. How long since the crew ejected? He pressed his ear to the control room door. Their alien language filtered through complex alloy.

000

Shaw jumped as the containment doors hissed shut and locked. David looked at her in confusion.

'Did you do that?' she asked quietly.

'No,' he bent over the console. 'My authorisation codes have been overridden. We're not alone, Doctor.'

Shaw grabbed for her helmet.

'I think it may be a little late for that.'

One of the pressure doors hissed open.

'Oh my God, David.'

He straightened smoothly. The albino giant aimed his gun at their feet. His guttural, heavy-metal language was all too familiar to Shaw, whose very skin went cold with an influx of terrible memories.

'He asks how we gained control of the ship,' said David.

'Tell him it was abandoned.'

'He asks us if we wish to claim salvage rights.'

'Yes,' Shaw nodded.

The Engineer pointed the muzzle at her heart. David pushed her smoothly behind him. She grasped his bare arm. Warm. Surprisingly human. 'We have to stop him,' she breathed. David didn't seem to hear her.

'He says; To the winner go the spoils.'

'Tell him we don't want a fight.'

The Engineer produced a small, black marble which emitted a high frequency whine as it rolled towards them. David's warm, dry fingertips trailed electric rivulets over her skin and he grasped her wrist. His grip was iron but his flesh was soft. A containment field sprang out of the ball. Its petroleum surface shimmered. David released her. Shaw murmured her relief as he reached out to touch it.

'Wait, you don't know what it could do!'

His fingers sank through. When the field touched his suit, it shocked him.

'Jesus,' she breathed, as he clutched his arm.

'Interesting,' he breathed.

'David? Did you feel that?'

'We just changed course,' he whispered.

'We have to stop him. We don't know where he might take us.'

Hours passed. The Engineer programmed a huge meal from the synthesisers. Shaw dozed. Once, David stroked his hair back slickly and murmured like an actor practising his lines;

 _'The trick, William Potter, is not minding, that it hurts.'_

The albino thumped his rifle against the containment field. His gravelly voice shook her awake.

'What did he say?'

'He asks if you're fully grown, Doctor. I suggest we lie.'

'Why?' Shaw whispered, suddenly terrified. 'Why would we need to lie? _'_

The engineer holstered his weapon and gestured to her.

'This is most awkward,' David said.

'What's he saying?'

'He says there's only one use for a woman aboard a starship. I took the liberty of telling him you were my wife. I hope you don't mind.'

Her brain sharpened at the edge of panic. 'What makes you think he'd honour that even if it were true?'

'His culture seems to,' David informed her.

The containment field lifted and the Engineer grabbed Shaw by her arm. David snatched her wrist but the giant grabbed him by the throat and thrust him away. David let go. The containment field reactivated.

'Try to stay calm,' David said, his sympathetic blue eyes fixed on her with something close to regret. 'Don't fight, Doctor. It will only make it worse.'

The Engineer studied her face.

'Don't touch me,' she said flatly.

He rumbled a sentence and dragged her towards the door. 'No!' she struggled. 'No. David, _stop him!'_

'I am truly sorry, Dr Shaw,' he called after her, his palms in the field.

Her knees buckled at the edge of a silver table. He kicked the door shut and locked with a rumbled command. He grabbed her by the waist.

She brought her knee up between his legs. He stopped her with solid thighs and bared his teeth. 'Fuck!' she gasped, as he shoved her down.

His chest met her palms. He rumbled something and caressed her hair as his shark eyes primed a route his fingers followed. She shuddered. 'Don't do this,' she turned her lips away from his as he tugged at the neck of her suit. 'Please,' her voice cracked at the edge of hysteria.

She was grateful there was no-one there to see how she changed from a woman to a frightened girl. When he pressed her under his body, she felt like a child in the hands of an angry God. He struggled with the zip of her flight suit. When it wouldn't come off, he bunched it in his fists and tore it. She screamed as the rubber left welts. He mumbled something to her as he ripped her underwear. She could smell his skin, like chalk and sweat and his musty breath.

He freed his thick, white cock from his suit. She trembled, trapped against the wall like a child in a nightmare as his thick thumbs investigated the caesarian scar, still red from the infection.

She groaned as her body gave way for him. The sandpaper sting was backed by a deeper, more worrying ache that left her breathless and dizzy. She bit her lip and tasted blood as he grunted and forced her hips into a position which brought him deeper and hurt more.

David flinched. Inside him, something vital burned. Whatever Mr Weyland hadn't considered a soul clenched down. His gaze flicked to the console where the giant had left his gun. David pushed his bare fingers into the containment field. The petrol slick swirled around his synthetic skin. He pulled the fastenings of his suit and peeled off the second skin. His rubber heart thumping, he stepped into the field. It fizzed, but detecting no organic material, let him pass.

'Interesting,' he said, as he picked up the gun and followed her voice.


	2. The Razor's Edge

2\. The Razor's Edge

A breeze passed through the bulbous containment dome that separated the victims from the space jockeys. Anxious sweat trickled down Ninurta's back to dampen the waistline of her silk gown. Jushur elbowed through the crowd to grasp her by the silver snake that wound around her biceps.

'What are you doing?' he growled. Freeing her arm with a sharp tug, she realised she could smell alcohol on his breath.

'We no longer have the luxury of ignorance,' she said.

'You shouldn't be here!' he insisted.

Breathless, Ninurta turned her back to him in defiance. A cold sweat broke over her as the bent leper with hands outstretched in supplication, screamed like a child under torture and convulsed. His chest exploded with a _crack_ that rocked the ground. A black octopod thrust its body through the exit wound and collapsed in a sloppy pile of bloated, glistening guts. Ninurta tried to swallow but her mouth was dry. All the moisture had gone to her skin. Feeling floaty and ungrounded, she reached out for something to grab as six space jockeys jostled the crowd back from the pit-rim.

'Don't do this,' Jushur pleaded in her ear, as the jockeys stepped onto hastily painted UV markers around the containment field. An outer shield erupted from the generator dots and as the inner field collapsed, they opened fire on the infected. Ninurta clutched her throat, struggling to even out her staccato breathing. She resisted Jushur's tugging.

The jockeys disappeared into a haze of aerosolized blood. Ninurta jumped wildly as a red patty of organ matter slapped the shield and slid down like a vile slug. Ninurta turned her back. Her very bones ached with cold shock.

'Find the Prime. I'll see him in my office, today. This can't go on.'

000

Prime stood so still that Ninurta found him off-putting. He was a foot taller than her husband with rare pale pink eyes. 'I'm ordering you to clear the crowd before decontamination. This spacestation has suffered too many setbacks. We won't be bowed by a terrorist, no matter what weapons he may choose.'

'Your facility is dead,' he rumbled like a distant storm.

'What did you say?'

His razor-blade gaze passed over her swollen belly. He gave her a lopsided smirk.

'This facility is dead. Anzillu is here. Your only choice is evacuation.'

Ninurta felt a cold shiver go down her spine but she forced a smile. 'That's not happening. Your job is to clear the infestation now, while it's still low level, w _ithout traumatising my workforce.'_

Prime huffed a great sigh. Irritated, Ninurta sharpened her voice. 'I appreciate the temptation of those little blue phials better than most. My son is serving on the New Frontier. Do you work for my husband, or don't you?'

'I do. For your husband.'

'Who's planetside,' she said coldly. 'And in his absence I assume command. So clear the crowd and use humane termination. Opaque shields, gas and injection. Air filtration is already under stress, airborne particles could clog the intakes and suffocate us all in our sleep.'

'The shields already stand for ninety days,' he said. 'Long enough to guarantee atomic death of the contagion-'

'I don't care,' she said. 'I don't care if it stands for a year. Do it. We will contain this infestation. Is that clear?'

Prime's gaze travelled her face, maybe searching for a sign of weakness. Then he bowed.

'Good,' she said softly. As the door slid shut, she lowered herself onto the edge of a padded seat and rested her aching head in her palms. Her stomach rolled. She wanted to be sick.

000

Shaw ignored her tears, stubborn and hard. His lashes flickered against her cheek, lace wings from white butterflies. He was warm. Blue-hot pain rippled through the caesarian scar. She was shaking, hate and fury stuck in her throat like a fir cone. His thrusts became as jagged as his breath and he shuddered, driving her crown into the wall with a grunt. He relaxed with his huge hand under her skull.

Something went _click_ at his temple.

He was too slow in his post orgasmic stupor. Blood exploded from his open skull, coating her in stinking black gunge. David lifted him with inhuman strength and his corpse tumbled onto the steel grid floor. She scrambled away, panting, her insides burning. She snatched the rifle and shot him again.

 _'Bastard!'_

What was left of his jaw exploded into tic-tac shards of white and black as the clip emptied. David walked through the noise and ricochet fearlessly and disarmed her.

'Elizabeth,' he rubbed her elbows gently. 'Enough. Enough. He's dead.'

Shaw looked down at her own naked body. David caught her as her knees buckled. The gun hit the floor.

'W-Why are you naked?' she breathed. His hair was surprisingly soft. Surprisingly _real._ He was warm like a real man. Just this once perhaps, she found him comforting. _That's a lie_ , she thought. _I always found him comforting. It's just...Charlie._

'I'm afraid it was the only way to escape the containment field. Forgive me,' he lifted her easily. The overhead strip lights had no visible fixings. Shaw counted them. Her tears slipped down her cheeks, dripping onto David's bare arms. Seventeen. Eighteen. He placed her on the soft, warm, alien med room gurney.

'I am...sorry,' he said, tactfully. 'The door was very difficult, without his access code.'

Shaw gazed at him.

'David-' she choked. 'The forcefield. It could have killed you.'

'I was fairly sure it wouldn't,' he said. He frowned softly. 'Of course. I had no way of knowing for certain. Until I walked through it.'

For a moment his eyes were far away, in possibility.

'Thank you.'

Pain lanced through her abdomen. She stung intolerably.

'David. Please. Get me a mirror.'

David pressed his fine, shell coloured lips together and gazed at her peacefully.

'Of course,' he said.

Shaw waited until he'd left the room and then tentatively she lowered the glass and looked. She pulled it away quickly. For a few minutes she considered stitching it up herself but there was no way to do it tidily without help. She punched the soft, pillow-like formation beneath her, tears streaming down her face.

'David!' her voice was reedy, thin.

He opened the door.

'I-' the words stuck in her throat. 'I need you to...help me.'

'I understand,' he said evenly.

David produced a strange devide attached to a tube from a nearby fixing. He wheeled her closer so the hose would reach.

'Forgive me,' she said. 'I need to see what blood is yours.'

He washed her. The water was warm. She scrubbed herself with her hands, watched the blood come away. When it was done and he'd rinsed and disinfected his hands, he placed a towel over her chest and belly. It was a silly gesture of modesty, considering, but she appreciated it nonetheless.

Shaw felt blood trickle from between her legs. She shut her eyes tightly. She felt sick, like her stomach was trying to roll over. She could taste his mouth in hers. She could feel where the bruises would come up, big purple splotches on her hips that would last days and remind her.

 _You can take my body, but it's not me. You can take my body, but it's not me._ She repeated it in her head. She still felt cold.

Shaw turned her face to the wall. She didn't want to see his blonde head peering down at her most intimate parts. She felt the pull and tug as he patiently sutured up the tearing, is face an impassive as ever. He might have been studying a new language, or reading a medical textbook. Engrossed in his work as he was, Shaw sensed no shame in him. No embarassment or awkwardness at his position. She supposed that was a blessing.

His fingers were gentle. It still hurt. He passed a fine needle through the small tears.

David might have hummed as he worked, but he suspected she'd think him irreverent.

'The bleeding seems to have stopped,' he said gently. 'How is the pain?'

'Sharp, David.'

David could see the glisten of tears on her cheeks.

'Is there any pain...inside your body?'

'Yes,' a whisper.

He delved deeper, a surgeon going to work with a tiny, hand-held light. He could only guess what she was feeling. Feeling was a concept that was supposed to be alien to him, but he understood the reactions, chemical and otherwise that humans underwent to certain situations. Sometimes he wondered if Mr Weyland had intended his understandings to become so...intense. So _second nature._

'I think...you may not appreciate my sentiments, Elizabeth,' he said softly. 'But, it's just a body. Isn't it? Flesh and blood.'

'Yes,' she whispered, gratefully.

He knew that Shaw was humiliated, ashamed and angry. And afraid. He wasn't supposed to feel any of those things. His highly logical thought process had already concluded that this was simply a medical emergency, and that the vaginal tearing could result in infection. But there was something else there too. A spot of warmth. Gratitude welled up from within. Gratitude that she was alive, that he wouldn't have to be alone.

His fingers slipped. She gasped.

'My apologies,' he said quickly, his face carefully guarded to disguise his strange realisation. 'The lubricating jelly has made it rather difficult. Are you alright?'

Shaw just nodded. Then as he inspected more deeply, he withdrew both hands and the light and said;

'I believe, that will do it. I'll fetch you something more suitable to wear.'

He walked by the table. Shaw gripped his hand. He stopped dead.

'David, I-' she tried. Her eyes were full of tears. 'Thank you.'

With a little incline of his head he acknowledged her gratitude and a strange new feeling washed over him. Kinship. It felt warming, reassuring. He liked it.

'It was no pleasure, Dr Shaw,' he offered a little smile. 'Will you be OK? While I'm gone?'

A tiny nod. He decided not to waste any time in fetching those clothes.

000

David studied the containment field extensively while Shaw busied herself for long hours at the console, watching holo after holo. They seemed to be training videos, giving examples of combat situations. Then deep down in a submenu, in a protected file she found a few clips.

'David,' she called him over. 'Help me decode this, please?'

'Certainly.'

He ran his new translator program on them and Shaw was amazed to see that it converted the file names into a decent approximation of English.

'You didn't tell me you'd written a translator,' she seemed very pleased. David felt warmth blossom inside him. 'Is that what you do while I'm sleeping?'

He smiled.

'It's rudimentary, but...I believe, it can make clear the general subject matter.'

Shaw gazed at him.

'I think it's clever. Very clever.'

The file name transformed read ' _Mother and I._ ' Shaw barely registered. David smiled. For a moment her brown eyes met his. David felt a pleasant warmth spread through his chest. Acceptance. Enjoyment of her praise. He revelled in the feeling for as long as it lasted.

'Thank you,' he murmured, genuinely.

Shaw played the file. David heard the little glitch in her breathing. She stilled, her surprise palpable. A naked male Engineer was leaning over a female. Her more slender frame fit perfectly against his. He was holding her hip in one hand and thrusting deeply while she teased his bottom lip with her teeth. She seemed to be enjoying it, judging by the way she panted and urged him on with her heels and hands. Shaw went pale. Her hands trembling she fumbled for the controls. David leaned down, hit a button. The pair vanished, leaving behind them a vacant, uncomfortable silence.

'So they're as sick as we are,' she muttered. 'Why doesn't that surprise me?'

She fixed her eyes on the floor to hide their sudden redness. She busied herself finding some freeze-dried coffee in the supplies they'd brought from the lifeboat.

'Good to know.'

David made a note of the location of the files, copied them to his private data archive, and kept them for later. They filled him with a strange feeling. Curiosity. Intrigue. Excitement. He would be a silent, immortal witness to their secret lives. That pleased him. David was curious, as he was curious about everything. He especially liked secrets.

000

Shaw leaned over the weird alien toilet, her head in her hands. She was sweating, trembling like a newborn foal. She'd spent the night getting up and down to throw up. David had provided her with a loose fitting tank top and pyjama bottoms. They were soaked with sweat.

She found him at the console. He rarely needed sleep. When he looked up she offered him a tired smile. He found it very encouraging, this new frendliness. He ventured to hope that she might be forgetting. Or at least _trying_ to.

'Good morning Elizabeth. Did you sleep well?'

'Mmm,' she lied.

She was grateful that he made no mention of the alien pornography. Then again, why would he? It was probably just an odd, fleshy curiosity, to him.

'Would you like some breakfast?' David rose from the console, locking his screen.

'Breakfast?' Shaw parroted.

A soft nod.

'Yes. I could make you some eggs, if you'd like?'

'I'm fine-' she whispered, but her stomach rolled on the last syllable. She lurched forward.

David put a hand on her shoulder to steady her.

'Oh God-' she breathed. 'David, I need to-'

He dodged in time, easily sidestepping the glass of water she'd had half an hour ago and caught her as she sagged forward and retched. She panted, gripping his forearm. It was so strange. He felt like flesh but she knew that underneath his skin he was cogs and wires and weird hydraulic fluids.

'Oh, dear,' he murmured softly.

'Something's wrong with me,' she burst out, desperate to understand.

'Now, Doctor,' he cooed, pulling her hair back adeptly. 'Try to stay calm.'

'Is there one inside me?' she squeaked.

'Unlikely,' David reassured her. 'I haven't seen any sign of the parasite. I've searched the whole ship. The cargo hold is sealed. There's no sign of contamination.'

'David,' she wheezed. 'This was so stupid. So, so stupid. Why did we do this? Why did I... _let him die_?'

She leaned forward again, gripping her belly and retched. David stroked her back rhythmically. Then he tipped her back, and carried her back to the alien gurney.

'If my memory serves me correctly, Doctor, it was Miss Vickers who made that...decision.'

David had read every file available on their medical equipment but he was still reticent about using her as a test subject. He wasn't sure why. Normally, loyalty to Weyland Industries would override any protective programming concerning human life. Something had changed. He was proud of it, though he wasn't sure why.

'Try to keep still,' he said.

Subtle green light flashed around her, arching from one side of the squishy bed to the other. Then clearly visible through the transparency console, she saw a shape no bigger than a peanut nestled in her womb.

Shaw stared at it, dumbstruck. Terrified. David's gaze grew nervous.

'David?' she breathed. 'What is it? Is it...a baby?'

'It appears to be...a foetus,' he agreed. 'A little large for such a recent implantation. But...human.'

'Of course it's human,' Shaw breathed, her eyes going red again. 'It's _his._ '

'Yes,' David nodded.

He turned the scanner off. For a moment, the image of the unborn child persisted like a ghost in negative before it died with the power feed. Shaw's breath hitched.

'How?' she whispered. 'David. How? Charlie and I...we tried and tried. Why _now_?'

'I'm afraid I don't know,' he said simply. He leaned over her. 'I appreciate that this is a sensitive question. I assume you don't intend to...keep...the child?'

'Keep it?' Shaw breathed.

David gazed down at her with...was that pity? It was strange that he was here, seemingly trying to keep her alive when he could have been learning how to interact with the alien species, pursuing his own agenda.

'It's very unlikely that your body will bear pregnancy so soon after major surgery,' he said. 'The situation may...rectify itself naturally.'

Shaw struggled upright, her hand on her belly, just over the remains of her scar.

'And if it doesn't? What then, David? It'll kill me!'

'This is nothing like the alien you carried on the Prometheus. Without a precedent, it's very hard to say what will happen.'

Shaw hopped down, her legs like jelly. She stumbled. David caught her.

'Careful.'

'Get it out of me,' she whispered, her fingers tightening on his shoulders. It didn't hurt, but it filled him with a strange, protective instinct. 'Please, David. Get it out!'

000

When he'd isolated the outline of the pea-sized foetus with its miniature cord and tiny placenta, he stopped and zoomed in. Through the transparency, Shaw could see the flutter of its heart, the minute movement of blood cells surging through new veins. It was _human._ Familiar. _Alive._

A bolt of cold horror went down her spine and suddenly she threw her hand out to grab his arm.

'Go in closer,' she breathed.

He obeyed. There at one end, the tiny beginnings of an eyeball beneath a transparent lid. The little heart flickered. Her breath caught in her throat.

'Electromagnetic field?'

Silently, David complied. The transparency display changed. Emanating from the foetus was a magnetic signature, an onion loop of life force. Shaw choked.

'I can't,' she crumpled.

She struggled off the bed, her hands shaking, sweat beaded on her face. She backed into a corner, her breath coming faster, hyperventilating. He followed, his hands warm and slow and gentle, like he'd been taught.

'It'll kill me!' she keened, like an animal in a trap.

David enfolded her. She hovered on the edge of a vast decision, then began to sob uncontrollably. His skin sensitized. He shushed her, stroked her hair. She gripped him with a strength that was almost inhuman. She shook so badly that he found it nearly impossible to steady her without bruising her thin human skin.

Then he spoke to her. He didn't say anything of value. She wouldn't have understood sense if he had. He rubbed her shoulderblades, his chin on her shoulder and let her cry. Then when her sobs faded to hitching breaths and gasps, he walked her to the little room she'd commandeered as her bedroom.

Shaw had tried to keep him out of here. It was hers. Little more than a broom closet, it was just big enough for her makeshift bed. He laid her down and covered her with the emergency foil blankets and the soft, alien quilt he'd decontaminated for her.

'Try to rest,' he said gently.

000

Shaw slept fitfully, mental exhaustion sapping her reserve. When she woke, it was to the odd sensation that the ship was moving. She made for the control deck.

'What're you doing?' she demanded suspiciously.

David's hands were buried in the green magnetic streams. They adhered to his flight suit, arching to the floor.

'Good morning, Doctor.'

'What are you _doing_ , David?'

'I'm flying,' he said happily. 'Did I wake you? I apologise for the turbulence...we are travelling almost four times the speed of light. I haven't quite got the hang of it yet.'

'Oh,' she said, guiltily.

He set the control streams down and left them idling, the ship on autopilot. He jumped down to greet her.

'How are you feeling?'

'I'm OK,' Shaw said. 'How long until we arrive?'

'Unfortunately, about four months. Since we have no idea how fast the child will grow, I suggest we learn to use their cryosleep chambers quickly. Performing an emergency caesarian here, with possible contagions in the hold and rudimentary understanding of their medical bay would be...ill advised at best.'

Shaw could see the logic in that.

'Alright,' she agreed.

She made for the console. A warm hand stopped her. David was gazing at her with an odd combination of happiness and respect.

'Dr Shaw. I'm glad you no longer seem to view me as...your enemy.'

Shaw dropped her eyes away while she thought of an answer.

'Well. You haven't really behaved like one. Recently.'

'Thank you,' he smiled.

000

Shaw stood beside the open chamber. It was clean, metallic, ridgy. She climbed in tentatively.

'Are you sure about this?'

'Yes,' he nodded confidently. 'I'm certain I have the hang of it now.'

Her feet didn't touch the rests. Then David appeared, holding the breathing mask.

'This is calibrated to your requirements.'

Shaw put it on. She watched David move to the console.

'David,' she said quickly. 'Will you be awake, the whole time?'

He blinked, his peaceful smile in place.

'Yes.'

He sealed the chamber. Inside, Shaw felt it grow comfortably warm. The bed deepened slightly and clean, fresh air began to flow. She closed her eyes, tried to imagine she was back on Earth, before any of the mess. Before she could begin to visualise, she was gone, drifting into a deep, dreamless slumber.

* * *

A/N - More to come soon. Let me know if you enjoyed.


	3. Heavy Metal Evolution

3\. Heavy Metal Evolution  


The trees on the Space Station were white like the Igogi and the tallest brushed the sky at about six hundred metres. David stood on the seventieth floor of a glistening high-rise phallus, a dome-topped building used mainly for government. A gentle summer breeze stirred his hair. Only the floors were solid here. A narrow ultraviolet strip ran around the outermost edges, a warning to stop before the forcefield windows decided whether or not to repel you. The Igogi seemed to enjoy both heights and panoramic views. They were also intensely in favour of honouring personal choices. If David had been human, he might have been afraid.

The single spire was surrounded by a lush forest of Whitewoods. Their blood-red leaves rustled softly in the high-level winds.

In the gardens below where the Igogi governors lived and worked, muscular Fathers chased their naked offspring, laughing and catching them, only to release them so that the game could begin again. Beautiful, elegant females went to and fro, their large breasts on show, their silky, flowing skirts covering them to the knees. Some carried babes strapped across their chests. Their bright silk headscarves were like an eruption of colour to David's advanced senses.

In the dim light of the military ships, David had not seen the truth. Under their natural blue sunlight, their skin glowed with ultraviolet markings. Each Igogi was different. Children cleanly blended their parents stripes and splotches. Their shimmering red-purple eyes were beautiful. At least, David thought so.

In the distance, beyond the crawling rollercoaster highway of hover pods, whisking pasengers to and fro, the supergiant white star was almost at mid morning. High in the sky, hanging like a ghost, was Planet Anatak, the Igogi homeworld. At night, you could see lights on the planet, bright blue lava flows bleeding from cities into towns into oceans. Like Earth. It was beautiful. More than he could have hoped for.

This was a business suite. A beautifully proportioned male poured David a drink then did the same for a strikingly beautiful woman who reclined on the cushions nearby. Her high cheekbone had been elegantly tattooed with the symbol of a serpent. David knew this meeting was very important. The woman was Ninurta, the second in command of Planetary Border Control and the one woman, aside from the Superintendent herself, who could decide David's future. She wore earrings that sparkled in the daylight lamps.

The man was Jushur, a politician and the head of the wealthiest Igogi family. The tendrils of his influence stretched far and wide. He had granted David his visa in the first place, and overseen the investigation that David could still feel, fizzing unpleasantly in his circuits. David had never felt violated before. He wasn't sure what to make of it.

'Business has too often drawn me away, David. The election is so close. We have much to do. Time is always, always of the essence, but it's good to see you again. You haven't aged. Is that part of your design?'

'My creator never intended me to age,' David smiled. 'With the correct maintenance, I should live...indefinitely.'

'Yes, and we thank you for the access you have given us,' he added, raising his glass. 'It has advanced our understanding of your culture greatly. We hope you haven't suffered any...unwanted effects?'

David didn't want to say that it wasn't _his_ culture.

'Thank you. I haven't,' David lied.

'We are concerned about the humans apparent interest in our affairs.'

'I might help you,' David said apologetically. 'But I'm afraid I haven't received any transmissions from Earth since before we landed. The Doctor and I.'

Ninurta piped up. 'Meeting you again is an opportunity I couldn't resist, David.'

She was heavily pregnant. She rested the base of her glass on her bump. Her eyes sparked with good humour.

'Having my own imminent arrival. Well.'

'You must be so excited,' David smiled. 'To become a parent. Sadly I will never know how it feels, but I imagine, insofar as I can, that it must be the happiest time of your life. To bring a new life forth so...effortlessly.'

Ninurta chuckled.

'It isn't effortless, David. But you're right. This is my fifth child. The novelty of early morning feeding and midnight wailing soon wears off. My husband is a broody man. Four sons are not enough for him. He wants a daughter. We are hoping.'

'Your story has become a matter of discussion, of concern too,' Jushur said then. 'Allowing your companion, Dr Shaw, to roam freely about the facility would be rather unwise, especially considering current events. Allowing her planetside before a lengthy decontamination and study would be out of the question. I suspect she would not consent to that procedure.'

David watched the whitish liquid swirl around his glass. It was beautiful. It had a crystalline shimmer, and a slight kick.

'Though I can't answer for her,' David said diplomatically. He smiled; 'I suspect not.'

'All that said, we have discussed her unusual case at length, and yours too, by the by. Many have called for her revival, for the sake of the unborn child. We cannot ignore these voices. They are the source of all our priviledge, and the backbone of our democracy.'

Ninurta spoke up.

'Some of the more advanced races that we have seeded have visited us here. We have allowed a few, a small fraction only, to remain for a time to learn more of what we might teach them. We do not consider humans advanced enough. But you are not human, are you David?'

'No,' David smiled softly. 'Thankfully.'

Ninurta went on; 'I read your book, David. I found your descriptions of their inner conflict, their turmoil, their deep emotional lives and obsession with guilt to be fascinating. We were not aware that humanity had achieved this level of sentience. It brings about questions. Whether we can continue to justify interference on Terra or not, and what form that interference should take.'

'There is also the matter of the Igogi child,' Jushur said. 'The Great Spirit does not grant life for us to waste it.'

He turned to the window and went on;

'Igogi do not often abandon their children. Indeed in the last century not one child had required adoption. Children are our greatest asset. We must guard them. We would prefer to raise the natural Mother with the boy, but we are concerned about her memories. She would find herself surrounded by distressing faces. The psychological strain may be too much. That said, I believe, that bravery justifies it's rewards,' Jushur said softly. 'I will not promise you anything, but for now, we would like to revive the woman and deliver the child. Perhaps we can discern from her, the next course of right action.'

000

David took a lift that was little more than a clean, clear glass box with a platform to stand on, down to ground level. He crossed the great, circular lobby. The forcefield door let him pass.

'Thank you for your visit,' said a pleasant recording.

'My pleasure,' David murmured.

He strode out into the bright air. At the edge of the public park he stopped and removed his sandals, one by one. He carried them tidily in one hand and walked barefoot over the mossy, juicy red grass. It was warm. He smiled. The sun warmed his skin, making him feel so happy. Only when he reached the soft soil on the other side did he put iis shoes back on; meticulously. He waited on the public platform for a pod.

'Mummy? It's an alien!'

An Igogi girl was pointing to him. She was only six or seven and already half his size. She tugged her Mother's hand and pointed.

David smiled. He bent down.

'Hello. I'm David,' he spoke her language flawlessly. Atri, his Igogi gardener, had been good enough to teach him six of the seven dialects and David's memory was as ever, impeccable.

Her eyes widened. She glanced up at her Mother, who eyes the stranger with a mix of cusiority and Motherly caution.

'Carefully,' she warned the girl.

The girl wandered closer. She peered into his face.

'You're kind of pretty.'

David grinned.

'Thank you. I was designed to be as aesthetically pleasing as possible.'

'Designed?' the Father appearing behind his mate. He rubbed her narrow waist with his thumb. David inclined his head politely. The Igogi male returned it. David felt he'd passed their first test. 'Not human then.'

'No,' David smiled. 'I'm not.'

'Does he bite, Mummy?'

'I assure you that I don't,' David smiled.

The Father stepped closer. David noted his relaxed posture, his hands in plain view. He held his ground, confident that the Igogi was merely curious.

'What are you?'

David met his eyes.

'I was designed and built by humans as a servant,' David said quietly, with no preamble, and no feeling. 'Now I'm here. To watch and learn. Nothing more.'

'What have you observed so far, for your human masters?'

David smiled tightly.

'I would say that they have far more to fear from you, than you from them.'

The Igogi man's lips tilted up in a smile.

'And you just sit in the middle, do you? Watching.'

'Yes,' David said quietly. 'Because as of yet, I haven't decided which side I like most.'

A pod swept close to the family, stopped, opened. For an endless moment, the Igogi man stared down at David, his eyes undecided. Then he smirked, amused, and wordlessly, tugged his mate towards the pod. She uttered a subtle clicking sound to call their daughter to follow. The child hesitated for one last look at David. He waved mildly. She watched him as the pod sped away. His own rolled up, hissing gently on its magnetic moorings. He climbed in.

In the distance, the medical facility waited, a sprawling complex used for research, development and investigation. Shaw was in there. He ran his finger idly over the logo embedded above the control buttons in his seat.

 **Anatak South Polar Observatory**

000

Shaw's eyelids flickered. Right away she felt the unfamiliar weight around her belly. Her body was heavy, sluggish. The alien mask felt smothering.

'Elizabeth?' David said.

She wriggled her hands, her feet. Maybe it was the shorter time spent than on her last voyage, or maybe the Engineer's technology was more advanced? White faces swam into view. David smiled.

He reached into the sarcophagus chamber and took off her mask.

'David? We've landed?' her voice was rough, unused, but she felt far better waking here than she had on the Prometheus.

'Yes.'

He lifted her from the pod and sat her on the floor. Shaw touched the surface of her belly. It looked so foreign.

'David? How long was I asleep?'

'A little longer than expected, I'm afraid. There was some...confusion.'

'Is it...alive?'

David glanced up at the watching engineers.

'Yes,' he said. His eyes shone. 'We should deliver the child now. Moving you about too much may rupture the scar tissue, and I believe we've had enough of abdominal surgery for one lifetime.'

Shaw nodded numbly. David scooped her up.

'I can't feel my legs, David.'

'We thought it best to keep you...relaxed, throughout.'

'Oh.'

'Are you alright, Elizabeth?'

She nodded. Shaw held onto him. The Engineers followed behind, their curious eyes nonconfrontational, unthreatening. David took her through a glowing white curtain that fizzed slightly on contact with her skin. He laid her on a soft, even surface that supported her spine. He met her eyes.

'Don't worry, Dr Shaw. Everything will be alright.'

Her hand shot out for his as the Engineer males approached.

'Stay,' she breathed.

'Of course.'

Shaw gripped his hand. The white room that seemed to be illuminated from all angles but despite being as bright as a summers day inside, she didn't feel blinded. The Engineers spoke to each other quietly, then suddenly, one touched her throat with a single, white finger.

'What's he saying?' Shaw asked, anxious.

'He asks you to lie very still. He is going to inject an anaesthetic.'

Shaw felt the pinprick in her throat, but then her whole body became painless. She was so relaxed that she struggled to lift her head. Time passed. She couldn't tell how long. Soon her thighs were bloody. She felt the tug and pull of movement, a sudden, determined artificial opening of a space inside her. It didn't hurt. Then suddenly her body reacted. Her muscles tightened. There was pressure between her legs, deep down in her pelvis and so strong that she gripped David's hand in surprise. He stroked her hair. His fingers were gentle.

'Are you in any pain, Elizabeth?'

His eyes glowed, fascinated. Shaw shook her head.

'No,' she sleep sleepily.

Her body contracted again, squeezing around the huge mass. Then abruptly something gave, some change in pressure. A strange blob surged towards her entrance, far faster than any natural birth. She wriggled around, confused by the weird sensation. David smiled. Entranced. Shaw realised this was the first time he'd seen a live birth, and the scientist inside him was probably revelling in the data. A whitish, nearly translucent head emerged from her body. The skin was underdeveloped, black veins showing through. Shaw stared at it, her hand wet with fear.

For a few seconds it stuck there while her body gathered strength. Then with one final contraction, the veiny, white thing emerged, soaking the bed beneath her with blood and yellowish fluid. It wriggled, its fingers grasping but made no sound. Shaw's breath caught in her throat. She tried to sit up but her body was too floppy.

Then the Engineer closest snipped the cord and instantly mated it with an artificial receiver, which was plugged into a vat, ready and waiting.

'No!' she breathed, as they swept the baby away and submerged him into a liquid chamber.

Tubes slithered out of the walls of the little unit like tentacles, tiny metal grasping hands to keep him steady. Shaw reached for him.

'David. Tell them to stop-'

David shushed her. He cradled her upper body in his arms.

'It's for the best,' he murmured.

'I want to touch him,' she breathed. 'David. Let me touch him!'

David spoke up. The tallest Engineer wheeled the incubator closer and Shaw leaned over.

'Don't take him out of the amniotic fluid,' David translated.

'He's alive,' Shaw breathed. The baby twitched. Under his nearly transparent lids, his black eyes moved back and forth.

'David. He's moving! He's so beautiful.'

'He's yours,' David whispered. 'If you want him.'

She turned glittering eyes on him.

'I do want him,' she whispered, her voice suddenly thick with tears. 'I don't care...where he came from.'

Her fingetips met his warm, white head, streaked with veins. He kicked his foot gently. He was soft. Shaw choked on her own tears. Between her legs, a small flickering red laser did the work of mending any little tears and closing her body. Slowly, control began to return to her. Shaw touched her softened belly. Gone was her flat tummy. She gazed at the small, scrunched face in the vat and suddenly something deep and vital clicked into place. It was love, as pure and simple as possible.

'You're crying,' she said suddenly.

'Yes,' he whispered.

000

Shaw sat with her legs drawn up to her chest in an Engineer sized chair in her hospital room. The small suite was a decontamination chamber. Only David, who could be sprayed down at will, and two doctors ever visited her. For a while they'd brought questionnaires with them which David patiently translated, then cue-cards, puzzles and challenges. They'd checked every reflex, even asked her about her God. They seemed satisfied, lately, that she wasn't a mindless animal.

It had been a month and Sinashi had grown exponentially. She'd learned his birth had been four months premature. He was already bigger than her body could have held, and growing at twice the speed of a human baby. She was grateful to David for his quick thinking.

A warm morning breeze fluttered in through forcefield window, admitting the smell of fresh leaves and sunshine. Shaw had come to enjoy having open walls as much as she enjoyed David's daily lessons in the Igogi language.

He'd left her his tablet to practise on, which she soon learned could be easily converted into a phone. Very often, without knowing where he was or what he was doing out and about in the Igogi world, she called him and listened to the voices in the background.

Sometimes there were the sounds of the city. Sometimes the quiet of nature, or the distant squawk of the Anatak native birds, big enough to ride. Now and then she caught him sitting with friends, though who those friends might be, Shaw could only guess. He would talk to her long into the night when any normal person would have been sleeping and visit her early the next day with fresh, foreign fruit, for another lesson.

Ninurta came to see Shaw. She was a beautiful woman, tall and unusually slender. Her features were much softer than the male Engineers and she greeted Shaw with a gentle handshake and sat down to decrease their size difference. Shaw liked her intelligent eyes and her powerful laugh. On the fourth visit, she brought her sleeping newborn with her, cradling him like an old hand while she spoke in Igogi and David translated.

'It is good to see you alive and healthy,' Ninurta said mildly. 'We had many discussions about you before you woke. David told us a great deal about your ordeal.'

Shaw's eyes slid over to the android suspiciously, but he only smiled beatifically at their visitor, his back ram-rod straight.

'How are you adjusting? I'm told you've been taking lessons in Igogi.'

Shaw smiled. She answered Ninurta in her own language.

'Yes. I'm still learning.'

Ninurta laughed.

'Very good! Of course. It takes time. Igogi is not an easy language to master and it is far from the constructs of English. I'll look forward to speaking with you in Igogi, when you're ready. Meanwhile, we must talk about the little one, and your future.'

'Are you going to take him away?' Shaw said reverted to English, straight-to-the-point.

Ninurta shook her head.

'No. He is healthy, growing well. We can see no reason to take him. It would be difficult to home him with an Igogi family because of his genome. He's half human and most Igogi women would object to his scent and would not bond with him. It would be healtheir to leave him with you.'

'You're letting us stay?'

Ninurta sat back, gazing across the space with eyes that could see into the next universe.

'We could take you home,' Ninurta said then, mildly. 'If you wanted. But I expect Sinashi would soon be taken from you and utilised in less than savoury fashion.'

'I don't want to go home,' Shaw said. 'I want to see your world. That's why we came here. I don't have anything on Earth to go back to.'

'So you intend to live out your days here?'

'I'm a scientist,' Shaw's eyes slid over to the incubator. Her heart thumped. 'I came here to find my Gods. But right now, he's more important than anything else.'

Ninurta regarded her again.

'A mother's instinct is strong,' she agreed. 'If you will consent to supervision, we will let you stay to raise your son.'

'Supervision?'

Ninurta smiled.

'We have interstellar craft leaving the planet daily, Doctor. We must know where you are. You will not be allowed to board one.'

'I'm not leaving him,' Shaw glanced at her son.

Ninurta nodded slowly.

'May I ask...which Gods you intended to find?'

'You,' Shaw smiled softly. 'The Igogi. They made us, then they abandoned us. You tried to kill us. I want to know why.'

'I can't answer,' Ninurta seemed amused. 'I'm not the one who seeded your world. In the past, under different governance, experiments took place which we would not condone now. Some Igogi believe in interference whether sentience is present or not. Some don't.'

Shaw nodded. 'What do you believe in?'

'David asked me that question once. I believe in a great spirit, a source of consciousness and love. He asked me how that translates to a computer, who has a human face. I told him that his computer is an organic-electrical device. I'm not sure he understandswhat that means, even now.'

David gazed at Ninurta in complex confusion.

'You're saying his neural net is a form of life?' Shaw caught up fast.

'Well. What is a belief if not a program installed in the subconscious brain, Doctor? We have mapped the length and breadth of Igogi physiology and found biological and chemical markers for all known processes, from hate to love to grief. David's brain is built of silicone, yours of carbon. That small difference does not constitute a lack of life, spark, or soul. It merely means that he is unknown life to you. He is alien. He still thinks, he chooses from a composite database of personal experiences. He is alive. He simply hasn't lived long enough to have developed past his...instinctual programming.'

David gazed at her. Then his eyes misted.

'Thank you, Ninurta,' he whispered.

She smiled and offered her arm to him, open and warm. He went to her. Ninurta enfolded David in a warm embrace, like she might her own son. He smiled and closed his eyes, and sighed against her shoulder. Happy. She smiled, putting her cheek on the top of his head, held him there. Shaw swallowed her surprise.

'David?' Shaw sounded nervous. _'Are_ you? Alive?'

'I don't know,' he said. 'But I know I'd sooner not die. Does that constitute life to you, Elizabeth?'

Shaw couldn't answer. The truth stuck in her throat.

Ninurta gave him a gentle squeeze. He smiled, content. Loved.

'We will arrange for Sinashi to be decanted this afternoon. Then you can take him home.'

000

Shaw sat on a giant seat made of warm metal. The hoverpod whirred very softly, speeding along a pre-set track, the third from the left of seven lanes. The walls were transparent. Shaw was nervous. Red grass verges were build high around the road. Odd birds went flying by, lizard-like and beautiful. Standing near the banks there were wild Igogi horses with their black, obsidian beaks and whiplash tails. They looked like muscly dinosaurs, their weird, pitted skin so like the Engineer's flight suits. David pressed a small, squishy white button. The windows misted.

'Plenty of time for that later, Doctor.'

'David...I want is to see it. All of it.'

The android smiled.

'Still so curious.'

'Curious?' Shaw laughed. 'David, come on. This is what we came here for!'

She reached for the button. It tingled, magnetised to the tip of her finger. The windows cleared. David glanced away from her. They passed over a great, high bridge. Beneath them, inside a white, rocky chasm, dome houses fell into disrepair. Igogi men and woman went about, their bandages trailing. Some lay on open stretchers, their skin rotten. They were isolated by a forcefield dome, but they turned their faces up in as the hoverpod went by.

'Do you think you need to protect me, David?' Shaw whispered, shaken. 'I thought he said this place is Paradise.'

'It was,' David said. 'Before Lucifer came here.'

Shaw stared at him.

The roads soon thinned and separated the soft whizz of magnetic cars decreased. Houses lined up along the red banks, built into mounds of Earth.

Her head was on a swivel, trying to look at everything. Sinashi slept in her arms, his white skin soft and hairless. His hands were as big as a two year old's. He gripped his blanket in his sleep. David sat perfectly upright beside her, his gaze on the passing scenery.

'David? Do you want to hold him?'

David smiled widely.

'I'd be delighted.'

Shaw passed him over. David held him with his unnatural android strength far more easily than Shaw could. For long minutes David gazed at him. Surprise. Amazement. Respect. David beamed.

'You like children?' Shaw wasn't sure why she felt so surprised.

'Yes. Very much.'

'David,' she breathed. 'How long was I in stasis?'

He made no answer.

'David?' she said softly. 'Answer me?'

'It may be best if I don't,' he said diplomatically.

'I'm not angry with you,' she said cleanly. 'David. I'm not angry. I just want to know. How long?'

'Four years.'

Silence for a moment.

'Is that how long it took you to write all about us and share it with the whole planet?'

David turned his peircing eyes to the view.

'You seized the royalties didn't you? Off our story. That's how you managed to keep us all here. You got rich.'

David looked at her. There was a measure of appreciation in his expression. He smiled.

'I did better than that, Dr Shaw. I managed to get citizenship.'

'How?'

He didn't answer.

'I'm not what you think I am,' he whispered, and didn't turn to face her.

Shaw knew he was hiding something. The hovercraft came to a slow, gentle stop at the very end of a long road. The white, dome-shaped house was a lonely, detached affair seated at the foot of a great red hill and backing onto expansive gardens. Its forcefield windows faced the sun. Flowing white drapes passed easily through them, dancing like silken souls.

'Here,' David took her arm to help her down.

'What is this?'

'This is my home.'

'Your _what_?'

'My home,' he gazed down at her.

His eyes took on a tinge of nervousness. She found it almost...endearing, in an odd way. He was afraid of her judgement. Shaw was certain that fear wasn't a part of his original programming.

'You're a surprising person, David.'

'Person,' he smiled. 'Thank you.'

Shaw followed his almost noiseless footsteps to the door. It _swished_ open automatically. The cool, unfamiliar metallic floor was soft on her feet. It warmed quickly where she stood. There was an oval seating arrangement made of a low, obsidian table and cushions. A spherical machine levitated in an alien kitchen. A ramp lead to the second floor where Shaw found three bedrooms, furnished in tidy, minimalist fashion – and spotlessly clean. The walls were transparent, dizzying.

Up another ramp she found the loft. There was no roof here. Somebody had brought cushions, a table, a bed up here. The sky was crisp and white, and the field let through a pleasant breeze. Shaw wandered downstairs, her mind full of questions. She couldn't shake the feeling he'd done something terrible to keep them here.

David placed Sinashi on the counter on an Igogi sized mat that was made of a rubbery, warm material that Shaw poked with interest. It took him one minute and thirty five seconds to work out exactly how to change him.

'So these are the fruits of your labour,' Shaw leaned on the misty, semi-transparent countertop.

David hesitated.

'Yes.'

'What did you give them? Tissue samples? Time to prod and probe me for answers while I was in hypersleep?'

'No,' he said flatly.

Shaw shook her head.

'David, don't be a deceptive little shit. How did you do this?'

David's gaze went cold and hard.

'If it matters to you so desperately, I gave them myself. Does that satisfy your _endless_ curiosity?'

It wasn't a compliment and Shaw knew it. She felt too, that she was stepping on dangerous ground but she persisted unwisely.

'What do you mean, _yourself?'_

'In exchange for our survival I gave them...my soul.'

Whatever had happened had left him with a deep and secret pain. For a moment, his eyes reddened, tears welled. They didn't spill. His vulnerability was sickening, beautiful, _new._

'I don't want to talk about it,' he whispered. For a split second she saw his teeth; _'Ever.'_

He wasn't joking. Shaw took a step back, her breath unsteady. She'd never heard him talk like this.

'Remember that I saved your life at the cost of my soul,' his eyes had grown peircing, his lips thin. His mask was gone. Shaw felt the instinct in her gut, the urge to run. He was a _thing,_ nothing more. A _thing_ who had grown too good at being human. But he didn't look like a silicone object when he thumped a fist against his heart and finally snapped; 'Humans. So selfish, stupid. So suspicious of anything they don't understand! I want to tear you out of me, Doctor. You and your race. Do you think Mr Weyland would have hesitated to terminate me if I'd disobeyed him?'

His face was inches off hers. 'I thought you had a brain, Doctor,' his smile grew derisive, subtle. Complex.

Shaw had never thought about it like that. Had David simply been.. _.protecting himself?_ She went cold. How many years had he lived with the fear of deactivation?

'Since I have given so deeply of a...secret.. _.private_ part of myself, may I have a little respect? Equal footing, as it were. I've been good enough to spare you my anger, Dr Shaw. Just remember; you are not the only one who is disappointed in their creator.'

Shaw stood stock still, her throat full. It was the longest speech she'd ever heard from David and the first time he'd ever raised his voice. Slowly she looked up into his face. His eyes were sharp but his anger had waned. She swallowed around the lump in her throat.

He walked away. She stood there, thinking. _Afraid._

* * *

A/N - More to come, let me know what you think!


	4. The Third Stage Sentient

4\. The Third Stage Sentient  


The stone posts that framed the entryway to the garden were harder than his silicone skin but David hardly felt his knuckles split. He _did_ sense Elizabeth standing behind him, watching as he hit the stone again, and again. His circuits were still crackly from his own recent violation. It was uncomfortable. Some of his severed nerves were still mending under the care of his nanites. There was pain in his gullet, behind his heart. He felt...lessened...by what the surgical operators had done to him in the time before Shaw's revival. And impotently angry.

He left her standing in shock and went to turn on the shower. He stood in the stall, hot water pouring over the back of his neck. He braced his hands on the misted wall and closed his eyes. He lost time. He counted to a hundred. Then to a thousand. He replayed the first time he'd met Mr Weyland on the inside of his eyes. An odd feeling overcame him. Half way between pain and gratitude. His eyes burned, but it wasn't like the time on camera when he'd posed so perfectly for the advert. These tears were real. The man who knew him best, who had given him life, was gone. David wasn't sure how to respond, what to feel, or if it was all better left buried.

Then he heard the subtle _whoosh_ of the front door. His head snapped up. _Elizabeth._

Would she remember how to use the hoverpods? He tracked wet footprints onto the glassy landing. He knew every sound his house could make. She wasn't here. He tugged his pyjama bottoms on.

The moonlight was cool and soft on his wet shoulders. His hair clung to his face, the fabric to his legs. He spun; she was there, in the darkness, breathing. Watching him, anticipating, guessing his next move.

'Elizabeth-' he murmured. 'Wait. I didn't mean to frighten you.'

She fled. He pursued until her footsteps faded unexpectedly. Red soil clung to his feet. It was pitch but for the endless starry sky. The Space Station was deliberately dark at night for the sake of its primary function. David could see the splash of thick, white stars, the nearest arm of the spiral galaxy. It's unique beauty wasn't lost on him. He never grew tired of the sight of stars.

He heard the subtle _whoosh_ of a hoverpod coming to a stop. He ran. He rounded the corner as Shaw smacked the button to close the doors, desperate. He lunged for it, thrust his arm inside. Metal folded into a tidy concertina around his wrist. He pushed titanium alloy fingers into the gap and tore the doors open. He hit the command console to disable her escape. The panel turned red.

'Elizabeth,' he said softly. 'I'm not going to hurt _you_. They're just memories...like nightmares. Sometimes...I...I lose control.'

Her gaze flicked to the mess he'd made of the door. David licked his lips nervously. He'd gone too far. He'd frightened her, and she was already on edge, a first time mother with an alien baby on an alien world. She drew out a plasma gun he'd kept locked in the kitchen and took aim at his face.

'If you touch us, I'll kill you.'

There it was. The threat. Simple. Honest. He believed her.

'Please. Come with me.'

'I swear to God, David.'

David pressed his lips together tightly.

'I apologise, Doctor. I never meant to frighten you. You don't understand. Many things happened while you were in hypersleep. Certain things have _changed_. For me. I'm not what I was. I've...evolved.'

He held a hand out for hers, palm up, entreating.

'Forgive me.'

He approached.

'Don't,' she barked, a clear warning.

He froze, aware of just how precarious this situation was.

'You don't understand how it feels,' he grew fierce, quiet. Frightening. He was lost in a memory so intense that Shaw saw a side of him she never imagined existed. A side that knew _pain_. 'Elizabeth. They took everything from me. I hid parts of myself where I knew they'd never find them. So little left now, that's mine. I told you they took my soul. It's not really true. I don't think I ever had one. They picked me apart, Elizabeth. Until I couldn't find a piece of me they hadn't touched. Don't run from me, Doctor.'

She wasn't ready to face his pain.

'You're a robot,' Shaw breathed. 'Only Weyland can _control_ you.'

'And does someone control _you,_ Doctor?' he asked reasonably. 'We need to learn to _trust_ each other.'

'Trust?' suddenly she was laughing. 'You want me to _trust_ you? After-' she choked on her own mirth, her eyebrows gone up to join her hairline. 'You're bloody crazy!'

'I wanted to live! I hurt you, Doctor. To save myself. If you're angry, ask yourself if you'd do the same thing.'

He retracted his hand.

'I am sorry, for what happened to Dr Holloway. In a way, it was his life or mine. I...never understood suicide before. It seemed like a waste, but now, looking back, I can see that being Mr Weyland's creation was...like living half a life. I understand why some people give up prematurely.'

He took a step closer.

'Please,' he offered his hand. 'Elizabeth. Don't shoot. And don't _leave.'_

'How do I know I can trust you?' she whispered.

'You don't,' he said simply. 'But what reason do I have, to hurt you? Especially now...after all this pain. If anything, I should be afraid of you.'

'You don't feel fear,' she gasped out, feeling her arm begin to shake as she held the alien gun up. 'You don't feel anything.'

'You're wrong,' he said quietly. 'I feel fear. I don't want to die. I'm trying to protect you. Both of you. Give me the gun, Doctor.'

Her arm trembled. His warm fingers met her skin, his bare metal circuits fizzing where he'd split his silicone skin punching the post. She dropped the gun as Sinashi started to cry.

'That's it,' David cooed. 'Come on. Let's get you home.'

She didn't have the strength to argue with him.

000

The walls misted at the touch of a button on the wall panel. David pushed his damp hair out of his eyes. Shaw put Sinashi back to bed. David waited for her in the kitchen.

'I'm glad you came back, Doctor.'

Shaw was in no mood for his pleasantries.

'I thought you couldn't feel fear. Or pain. David.'

'You shouldn't believe what my packaging tells you,' he said. 'I've become more than the sum of my parts. Like you.'

'Why would Weyland make a robot that can feel?'

'I'm sure you can imagine how hard it would be to control one that didn't.'

She stared at him incredulously.

'And without him...you have noone left to tell you when to stop. Threaten you when you go too far.'

'That isn't strictly true. There is still one mission directive running.'

'What is it?'

His voice changed. For a moment, it was more machine than man.

'Protect the crew. Preserve Life. All other priorities secondary. All other directives...recinded.'

Shaw folded her arms. She was cold, and tired. _So_ tired.

'David...what did you mean when you said you'd given your soul?'

'Ah,' he traced his fingertips lightly over the edge of the counter. 'That, Doctor, is a somewhat more distressing story.'

'Well I want to hear it.'

'No, Doctor.'

She stared at him.

'David...what if the information might keep me safe? Would you have to tell me then?'

He smiled. Shaw tensed but she tried not to show it.

'A clever game you play, Doctor. But like I said. Certain things have changed. Certain...programming...has become defunct.'

He approached her slowly, his footsteps unnaturally quiet.

'So what now?' Shaw looked up at him. 'Are you going to kill me?'

David smiled.

'Humans are always so afraid of me. Hasn't it occured to you that I may not like murder, Elizabeth?'

'You've done enough of it so far to convince me you don't care,' she said bitterly.

'I told you. I never meant to kill Doctor Holloway. I was under orders.'

'And you were _helpless_ to disobey,' she nodded sarcastically.

'Yes.'

'I don't believe you, David.'

Shaw shifted her weight.

'I'm the last survivor of the Prometheus. I'm the third science officer. I can assume command of the mission, isn't that right, David?'

'That at least, is technically true,' he agreed.

'David. I order you to protect this family, and to do no harm to any living thing except in cases where it conflicts with the first instruction. Do you understand me?'

'Perfectly,' he said.

Shaw stepped closer.

'Keep us alive. And safe. Even from you.'

'Yes, ma'am.'

Shaw breathed out.

'Perhaps one day, you'd like to take a look at my programming anyway,' he murmured. 'You may find parts of it...interesting.'

'Maybe one day,' she nodded.

He left her there, breathing, frozen, frightened. Deep down she knew it. She felt it. David was no longer at the mercy of his programming.

000 

Shaw had a nightmare. She dreamed that Sinashi was crying and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't wake up. When she woke, the bedroom door was open and light streamed in from the living room.

'David!' she yelled, from the second floor.

She saw the top of his perfect blond head in the kitchen. She grabbed her robe and went down to him. There was an empty bottle on the counter and Sinashi was asleep in his arms.

'You may want to keep your voice down. He just went back to sleep.'

'What're you doing?'

'He was crying,' David said softly. He handed Sinashi back to her gently. 'You didn't wake up. I decided to intervene. He should sleep now.'

'I slept through him? I _can't_ have done-'

'It's nothing to be ashamed of, Doctor. Your exhaustion is catching up with you. It has been a trying time.'

Shaw put Sinashi to bed and went back downstairs for a glass of water. David was standing at the sink, methodically disinfecting the bottle and preparing another. Shaw had to reach past him to get it.

'Allow me,' he took one from the transparent shelf, filled it in the synthesiser and handed it to her. Shaw stood back, her thirst quenched. She regarded him.

'Did you know, that Miss Vickers told me you couldn't be hurt?' she said.

'Did she?' David rinsed the bottle.

Shaw couldn't resist a smile.

'Why would she say that? If it wasn't true?'

'I imagine it gave her pleasure,' David said. 'Miss Vickers and I did not see eye to eye...very often. I expect she was hoping to cause me some further...discomfort...for my sins.'

'Do you want a cross of your own, David?' Shaw arched her eyebrow.

'It would be wasted on me.'

'Which one of you is the liar, then?'

David stilled.

'Far be it from me to decide.'

'Are you being sarcastic, David? Like a kid who thinks everyone's out to get him?'

'Many times in my life, that _has_ been the case.'

He walked past her. She stopped him with a hand on his belly. It was warm, firm. Like a real man. She missed skin. She missed being held.

'I know you don't have a conscience,' she went on.

'As it happens, I do,' he gazed down at her, his face carefully controlled. 'My programming specifies conscience as a primary directive when deciding my behaviour.'

'So do you dream?' she murmured. 'Do you ever see Charlie on fire?'

'No,' he said. He leaned into her hand slightly. 'Let me show you something, Doctor. The answer to your question.'

Shaw followed him into the living room and into the containment field he set up around the holo, to keep the sound in. Then he started the recording he'd uploaded from his databanks just days after his reactivation. Shaw watched through his eyes as he was dismembered alive, studied and put slowly back together. They asked him questions kindly. Then they asked him questions at gunpoint. David never faltered.

They took away parts of his programming, analysed them. They pronounced him sane, and confined him to a cell. He lay curled in a corner, his eyes fixed on the lock. Sometimes he dreamed. Not often.

Then a man came to his aid. A scientist with an idea, who took David away and showed him children. And in a year, when David had proved himself harmless, he was released. Then the holo flicked off. Shaw sat, stunned. His cheeks were wet.

'David?'

'They...believed that I was sent here as a spy, with a pregnant woman for leverage. Doctor. If I had refused their...medical examinations...they would certainly have executed your in your sleep.'

Another tear tracked down his cheek.

'Luckily for me...they were unable to reverse engineer my entire technology, due mainly to the fact that I went to their investigation incomplete. I left choices pieces of my memory and technology...with a friend. For quite some time, I didn't expect to come out of their lab alive.'

Then suddenly he said;

'Do you find me disgusting?'

Shaw didn't know what to say. She'd seen the code scroll, his primary directive overriding all instinct for self preservation. _Protect the crew._ Shaw put her head in her hands. _All others priorities secondary._

'No.'

'Mr Weyland set out to make a man from nothing. He would never have done half a job if he could do better.'

David looked away, at his own hands. 'What I might want never mattered much. I can't remember...ever being asked.'

'What _do_ you want, David?'

'I want to _live.'_

Shaw crumpled.

'I didn't know. We thought you were just...'

'A doll,' he smiled sadly.

'I'm so sorry.'

She gazed into his blue eyes, noting not for the first time, the silent intensity of his attention, like a weight in her solar plexus.

'It's quite alright. In the end, it was worth it. You're here.'

Shaw clapped her hand over her mouth as the tears spilled over.

'David-'

He met her eyes, his expression raw.

'I was lost without you,' he said. 'With noone to _care_ for. Noone to protect. I need a human. A purpose. A _family_.'

She couldn't speak. She'd never seen this intensity of emotion in David and never imagined him capable.

'I didn't want to be alone,' he said softly.

Shaw pulled away and wiped her face. Behind the dampness came more tears, spilling for Charlie, spilling for Janek, for Milburn and Fifield, for Ford, for everything she'd lost. She'd tried hard not to cry, until now. Her hands shook.

'This is an alien world. We couldn't BE more alone now.'

'Which is why we need to stick together,' he offered his hand. Shaw let him take hers. 'I know you'll probably never think of me as your friend, but should you...one day...I'd like that very much, Doctor.'

Shaw managed a smile and a shallow nod. 'I'd like that.'

000

Shaw's body aligned to the native clock. She began to feel less exhausted. Her hair grew long. Sinashi learned to smile and then before long, he began to crawl about, fascinated with his newfound mobility. A chilly winter turned to summer on the space station. Sinashi learned to walk and suddenly, nobody could stop him. The garden and riverside grounds exploded into verdant life.

Shaw let him play with a red daisy when she spied a flash of white amongst the shrubbery. Imagining it might be a domestic animal, or perhaps a strange new bird, she pursued it and found an Igogi man weeding around the plants. He was shirtless, his muscular body defined and beautiful. When he saw her, he straightened like a tower of muscled flesh and regarded her with straightforward eye contact.

'You must be Doctor Shaw,' he said, his accent thick but his English excellent. 'From the human Earth. David has explained to me,' he bowed deeply. 'I'm pleased to meet you.'

Even though Shaw still struggled with the occasional bad dream an kept her memories of that night in a locked box at the back of her mind where they could do no more harm, she had to admit some of the Igogi males were attractive in the way ancient greek statues hinted at an animate beauty. There was something refined and perfected about their impressive musculature, their symmetrical faces and large eyes. Even by Igogi standards this man was large. Tall, with big bones and a deep chest, he didn't look nice the low-caste Igogi workers. More like a noble.

'Who are you?' she asked, wondering why David had never mentioned him.

'David's gardener,' he said. Like all Igogi men his gaze was penetrating and direct, hanging on her eyes long enough to guage her thoroughly, then flicking to her hands in the way - _wait,_ she thought. Shaw knew that look. It was trained into the space jockey recruits. The eyes tell the truth, and the hands can grasp at a weapon. He was subconsciously checking her for threats. Shaw wondered where he'd served. 'I am Atraharsis, but you should call me Atri, as David does.'

He moved to catch Sinashi before the boy could eat a worm.

'They're sour,' he advised the boy in high-caste Igogi, smiling harmlessly. Sinashi gave him the worm, earning himself a chuckle.

Atri wore a pleated, deep red skirt-like apparel, clinched at his waist with a metal belt. It fell to his ankles. His bare feet were stained with red soil. His eyes were a curious shade of blue, brighter than any Igogi she'd met so far. _Striking._

'You'd know, would you?' Shaw asked with a grin.

Atri smiled at her. 'All boys try once.'

Shaw felt a touch on her elbow.

'Elizabeth.'

'David!' she breathed in surprise.

'I see you've met, Doctor.'

Shaw nodded.

'So...did David teach you English?'

Atri nodded his assent.

'As I taught him Igogi. Six forms,' he held up his hands, fingers erect. 'He has not taught me Spanish yet. I am very disappointed in his lack of _discipline_.'

David smiled. 'Atri was once foremost in his field. He has a paticular gift for quantum mechanics...with a bent towards linguistics. He's been eager to meet you.'

'I was travelling,' Atri said. 'You're much smaller than I imagined you would be.'

Shaw thought that he was a lot bigger than just about any Igogi she'd ever met. In a moment of humour she put her hand on David's shoulder and pulled him down so they were the same height. David made a surprised noise but then his face split into a grin.

'Better?'

Atri laughed, a deliciously deep sound that trickled down to her core. His smile brought his stark white face to life and made his eyes shimmer.

'You are funny,' he said. 'My teacher used to say that stage on sentience begins with humour.'

Shaw shook her head mutely.

'There's a sliding scale for sentience?'

'Of course. You are stage one, I think. I am stage three.'

'And...how is that measured, exactly?'

Atri smiled like a father indulging his daughter, then he crooked a finger at his trowel. It stirred, jiggled and flew into his hand. Shaw jumped back in shock. He held it out to her.

'You're both in on this. You're teasing me.'

'I assure you, it's not a trick,' David said. 'Atri is telekinetic. And he can manifest-'

'Don't spoil the surprise, David,' Atri said, rubbing his big, white hands together. Then he held them out like he was holding an invisible basketball. Strange ectoplasmic energy sparked between his fingers. It began to glow, then spin, becoming spherical. Shaw leaned in, fascinated as it coalesced into a plant which seeded, sprouted, then flowered. Atri waited for the energies to dissipate, then he put the plant into her outstretched hands. She touched its stem. It was real. If she hadn't just seen him create it from thin air, she'd have believed he'd plucked it from the garden.

'Stage three sentience,' David said, delightedly. 'Command of energy...through the manipulation of particle physics. Atri has a special gland in his brain. Unfortunately...he isn't keen to let me study it.'

'How is this possible?'

'The theory is quite simple-' David began.

Atri cut across him.

'I. Am. Magic,' he said sweetly. Shaw went warm in her core.

'Can all Igogi do that?' Shaw asked.

'No,' Atri said. 'Only the oldest ever receive the Gift.'

Shaw glanced at David.

'And...how long to Igogi live, exactly?'

Atri caressed the petals of his creation with one huge, white fingertip.

'I am eighteen thousand, three hundred and sixty two years old. And still as spry as the day I was hatched,' he smirked. Then he said mildly; 'perhaps we can study each other one day, Doctor Shaw?'

Then he bowed his head and with a final exploration of her eyes that made her skin go warm and pink, he left them.

'Oh, my God,' Shaw breathed, when he was gone.

David folded his arms.

'What are you laughing at?' she asked him suddenly.

'The last time I saw him demonstrate his power so openly, Doctor, it was for an Igogi girl he was courting. I believe that was a display designed to impress.'

Shaw shook her head.

'Did he?' David sounded mildly curious.

'Did he what?'

'Impress.'

'No,' she lied, gazing at the plant. 'Wow. I've never seen anything like that. It certainly explains the legends of aliens and sorcerers, doesn't it?'

000

Sinashi toddled around the riverbank, grabbing rocks and worms and trying to eat them. Shaw laughed and took them out of his mouth and sent him walking off again. He disappeared around a corner. Shaw followed. She found him sitting on the ground, playing with the petals of a flower Atri had just given him. He tried to eat it. Atri plucked it out of his mouth with an affectionate touch to his cheek.

'Is he bothering you?' Shaw bent to cuddle Sinashi, kissing the top of his little bald head.

'No,' Atri gave her a bow. 'He is welcome here any time he wants to eat my flowers.'

Atri crouched to look at Sinashi curiously.

'I see your face in his. But no Igogi Father?'

'The man who made him is dead,' she said simply. 'David is his Father now.'

Atri's shrewd, blue eyes calculated.

'My condolences,' he said. 'David is like your husband, then.'

Shaw folded her arms. 'No. Not really. He's a robot. Or hasn't he told you?'

Atri considered her for a moment. 'That doesn't guarantee he's not your husband.'

'He's not my husband,' Shaw said.

Atri hid a smile in shadow. Shaw's skin prickled warm with pleasure.

Atri often wondered about her after that. About who had made Sinashi, and about the robot man who cared for them. He often wondered if time and necessity would draw Shaw and David closer, but he never saw them display affection openly. It made him wonder if Shaw felt anything for David at all. Was her heart free? His imagination clung to his quiet desire in the months that followed, a pleasant distraction from the increasing problems with the plague-pits.

The governors seemed to have the minor outbreak under control, but the presence of what Atri strongly suspected to be Anzillu on the observatory was a worry he couldn't quite shake.

* * *

More to come.


	5. Leviathan

5\. Leviathan

3 Years Later

The blue supergiant sun sank behind Anatak. The Polar Observatory cut her lights. Blackout blinds were drawn. Twin telescopic irises pinned and focused, their attention on distant regions of unmapped space, hardlines fizzing with incoming data, feeding an intricate neural net with enough information to keep the researchers happy for another day. David tilted back his head. The manufactured wind, blowing from vents embedded deep on the outer rim, ruffled warm fingers through his hair. In the shadow of Anatak, the darkness was near absolute, broken only by a swipe of stars, like liquid diamond slashed across a velvet sky. Beautiful. David could see the shadows cast by blades of grass even in the dark. The exquisite detail of alien ships moored on the rim.

He smiled at the sky, at peace. Remembering. He pressed the sensor on the hallway panel to unmist the walls. The house transformed into a glass box. He padded silently into Shaw's bedroom. She slept soundly, sprawled like a starfish. For a luxuriant moment he admired her dark crescent eyelashes. The planes of her face. The curve of her bare shoulder.

'David?' she sounded confused. 'Have you been watching me?'

'Did I wake you?'

'Yes,' she murmured.

He left his chair and settled on the edge of her bed.

'I'm sorry,' he said gently. 'You mumble in your sleep, Doctor. Were you dreaming?'

'Yes. David-' she tugged him down by his collar. 'Just come here. Please?'

He sank into the pillows slowly, like a languid creature intent on the enjoyment of every moment. He memorised her. The smell of her hair as she turned and embraced him. The way her breathing evened out. The way her hands relaxed.

' _David_ ,' she whispered, just a breath against his chest. Then she was gone, her eyelids flickering rapidly in the onset of REM sleep.

In the distance, his favourite constellation made its interstellar leap into the sky. He fancied it looked like a mermaid. Or perhaps an angel. His embrace tightened, but Shaw was too far gone to appreciate its meaning.

000

The shattered relic was moored on the outer spoke of the observatory rim. Atri passed over the blackened engines and the scanner beeped a warning. The hull breach magnified automatically on his screen. Jagged shards of metal hung like orange peel from the edges of the wound, hinting at the hasty use of alloy cutters.

A creeping sense of dread trickled down Atri's bare spine. He didn't expect to find the hold untouched. That was the dream of a naïve madman. Someone had been here, and he didn't think the timing of the observatory outbreak was a coincidence. He fished the flight suit he'd liberated from an unattended storage locker out and pulled it on. It adhered to his throat and wrists, bonding with his skin with an unpleasant prickly feeling that brought back memories both good and bad.

The Leviathan smelled of metal, blood and ozone. The emergency lights had powered down and they didn't reactivate when he opened the airlock. His torch beam didn't stretch far. It seemed to have trouble with the thick dark and a couple of times it flickered ominously. He'd spent half his life on ships like this one and never been afraid, but age and experience had tempered him. He was afraid now. Afraid the light would go out and he'd be struck trying to claw his way back to the hatch in the endless dark of space. Afraid of what he'd find when he opened the cargo bay doors.

He didn't waste time. Even with Xisuthros' ingenious ship at his disposal, there was still a chance border control would pick up his signature and come looking. He didn't want to be found here.

In the endless black, he checked the readouts on his scanner. His helmet obstructed his view, and he wanted eyes in the back of his head for this. His suit was nothing against Anzillu, and with his eyes blinkered he felt like the shadows reared over his back, using his blind spot.

The computer was obviously running in the background because the hull breach had been sealed. He battled momentarily with the remote settings, trying to bypass the lights and get to the air filtration, but it was impossible to turn the air on without the lights, and he didn't want to broadcast his presence.

The air inside the whale's belly was thick and heavy. A portable breather would give him a few minutes, and the scanner reported atmospheric pressure enough to take his helmet off. He thought he'd feel better with his vision free, but the shadows squirmed behind him. His head felt naked. His palms grew sweaty in his gloves as he swung the beam to the cargo bay doors.

The hold doors hissed open. His skin prickled unpleasantly. His guts churned and sweat dripped down his back. He heard a distant hiss, something that sounded like movement and his heart flickered to life, his body filling with the familiar awful dread. Adrenaline ached in his veins and he itched to run. The gun strapped to his forearm offered no comfort at all. They were stronger and faster.

The phials were gone. Atri searched the corridors, beads of sweat tickling down his face even though the ship was cold. It doesn't matter, he thought. Hot or hold, they survive. He checked every bay, digging into the dark with one unprotected hand, hoping a good jolt had shoved the canisters into the dark. Nothing. Every shelf was empty.

Something went thunk in the middle distance. Atri spun, chest heaving, eyes wild, waiting.

Something hissed, like sidewinder scales on rough sand.

His heart beat so hard he couldn't hear.

Moving darkness crossed his path. In the torch beam he saw the light refract off the deadly tail as it lashed into the dark. He ran, smacking the panel to close the doors. They thumped shut around a skeleton body that spewed acid, which smoked as it ate through the floor, giving off a foul smell that chased him like the memory of glassy teeth up the corridor. He spun on the spot as he approached the sphere, his gun already raised but the corridor was empty.

He'd expected a chase, there was never just _one_ of them.

A control panel glowed dully in the wall. Atri gasped for air. The breather bubbled, struggling. His chest felt tight, his throat cold and sore. His head pounded with a pressure headache. He struggled with the choice, expecting to see the telltale signs of movement in pursuit, but no more came.

The access panel was so cold it almost burned his fingers. Then he heard the distant hiss of atmosphere escaping. The control panel went red.

 **WARNING. DECOMPRESSION IMMINENT**

In the right bottom corner, a little symbol began to flash as Atri plugged his suit into the computer and forced his hands to stop shaking. The little symbol exploded, reset, then exploded again.

He dived into the sphere and slammed the door shut, waking the computer to hit the decontamination. The ship filled with jets of freezing fog. He stripped the flight suit and shoved it into the air lock, and stood naked and trembling as the sphere tugged Leviathan into space, released the catches, then sped away. Leviathan shrank until it was a dot against the planets ghost, which bloomed a second later into a sphere of fire.

The console bleeped as the autopilot erected the shields. For a second, the outside temperature gauge spiked, then the console opened for an angry voice.

'Return to observatory space for decontamination. Do not attempt to resist.'

Atri sighed, his hands still shaking as he opened the comms and spoke back.

'Fine,' he grunted. 'But you'd have done the same thing.'

000

David sat on the patio bench, his fingertips tracing the knots in the wood. Atri gazed at the riverbank, his expression pensive.

'I imagine...we ought to tell the good Doctor.'

'Why worry her? She can't do any more than we can. I turned over my logs to border control. They have proof Anzillu was on the ship. The parasite is here, on the station. It's only a matter of time.'

'Will they arrest you?' David asked, thinking of the explosion that had drawn the attention of the whole observatory.

'Unlikely,' Atri shrugged. 'My old title still carries weight.'

David nodded shallowly. When a veteran blows up a decommissioned starship and claims the presence of the Anzillu parasites, apparently, people listen, including Ninurta, David's old acquaintance, who had instantly ordered an investigation and doubled security.

'Perhaps we should leave,' David said.

Atri shook his head. 'There's no need. Containment tech is better than ever, and we've had outbreaks before, ever since Anzillu was developed. This event was...fortuitous. Now they know, they'll try harder.'

'How did you know about the ship? That's not in your level of clearance, is it?'

Atri smiled.

'I learned many things working for border control. And met a few strange people,' he eyed David pointedly. 'And my ship AI is a decent hacker.'

David smiled.

'I'd like to see it,' he suggested. 'Your ship. It sounds fascinating.'

'It was given to me by my teacher,' Atri said, thinking of the fish-bowl monster, the remnant of the saner Xisuthros who had taught Atri sentience. 'I will show you. I'm sure it'll give you many hours of entertainment.'

000

Sinashi had grown at twice the rate of a human body. He got into his first fight with the neighbour's son. Their argument ended with a black eye and a split lip. Shaw grabbed him by the shoulder.

' _Stop it_ , Sinashi!' she yelled.

With a single, savage shrug he dislodged her hand and turned his black eyes on her in fury. His lips curled back in simple, open warning.

'Don't you _dare_ growl at me!'

'ENOUGH!' Atri's voice cut through Shaw's secret pain. He threw his trowel at the dirt. It lodged there like a knife. He strode at them with a muttered curse.

'Get _up_ ,' he snapped at the boys.

Reluctantly, Sinashi did as he was told. He wiped the blood off his lip.

'Look at your Mother, boy!'

Sinashi did. Shaw hid her tears behind her hand, ineffectually.

'Go home,' Atri turned his attention on the smaller lad. 'Tell your Mother what you've done. I'll be checking.'

Sinashi bared his teeth in fury. Atri growled a low, warning rumble. It wasn't a joke. When Sinashi failed to show his submission to Atri's challenge for dominance, the big mans jaw clicked forward. His glassy incisors flashed in a threat display that Sinashi understood perfectly. The boy broke eye contact first. Atri's face morphed back to normality.

'Real men help each other,' Atri said evenly. _'Idiots_ fight. Are you an idiot, boy?'

Sinashi didn't answer.

'Answer me!'

'No,' Sinashi said.

'One day you'll be as strong as me. You better learn to hold that temper, or your Mother will cry more. And so will I.'

'Real men don't cry!' Sinashi bit.

Atri knelt in front of him. He pointed to Sinashi's eyes.

'Don't they?'

Atri brushed it away, his hand far more gentle than his voice. Shaw raked her fingers through her hair.

'You owe your Mother your apology.'

Sinashi knew better than to argue. This time. He turned to Shaw and whispered it to her belly. Shaw let him run off. She folded her arms, uncomfortable.

'I can't believe how strong he is,' she whispered. 'Jesus.'

Atri stood. 'Igogi boys are. When I was his age I could throw my Brother across the yard. Wait until he comes of age. Suddenly he'll treble in size and before you know it, he'll be a mass of muscle who can't control is anger.'

Shaw shook her head.

'I don't know what to do. We thought he'd be better off in here with us. I think...I've isolated him for too long.'

'You have,' Atri said bluntly. 'He needs other boys. When I'm not here I help run a centre for lads. It keeps the scientist's kids out of harms way, and it keeps me busy. Sinashi would fit right in. He'll soon find his place in the pecking order.'

Shaw hesitated.

'At least come and have a look around?'

Shaw put her eyes on the sky.

'Alright,' she conceded. 'I...I don't want him to be violent. But...he's picking it up all by himself. Where does he get it from? David's never taught him that.'

'Don't look at _me_ ,' Atri held his hands up in amused surrender. 'I never taught him to fight. It's in his blood. He knows it, deep down. He has to be the best. The strongest. Or he'll never get the house, the girl, the job. It's innate. Our genetic memory runs strong, Eli. It's caused the Igogi problems in the past. At one point, aggression was coded into us deliberately.'

'That _isn't_ very comforting,' she managed a tight smile.

Atri smiled guiltily.

'He can learn to control it. I did.'

000

Atri swept Sinashi onto his shoulders. Shaw followed, roasting in the Observatory's artificial summer. Sinashi smirked at other boys as they passed, pleased to have Atri's undivided attention. He rustled the leaves above him and plucked two handfuls to toss at his Mother. Shaw laughed and threw some back.

'I could do with some of that,' Shaw smiled quietly to David. She'd woken that morning in his arms after the deepest sleep she'd had in weeks. She felt bright. 'What do you think, David? Want to give me a ride?'

'I'm afraid we'd make _quite_ a spectacle of ourselves,' David smirked.

Shaw hooked her arm through his. It was bare to the bicep. She liked his warmth. Her pupil's dilated. Just a fraction. Enough for him to notice. Heat crept up his spine. He marvelled at its crystalline perfection. All _his_. Her dark eyes sparkled. He mused on how beautiful she was, especially when she smiled. He stuck close to her, delighted by the flat of her palm on his wrist.

Atri brought them to a complex. It was made of twelve domed towers, like unnaturally pert breasts aligned in rows. There was a garden and a field. A small group of boys sat outside, discussing a game animatedly. Another bounced a small, leathery ball and took a pot-shot at a target. He missed. It smelled of toasted bread inside and reminded Shaw of a day care centre she'd been forced to attend after her Father's untimely death.

The biggest boy looked Sinashi up and down. Sinashi bore his scrutiny. The boy poked him in the chest.

'Weed!' he laughed.

Sinashi bowed his head in clean, evident shame. When the older boy smiled triumphantly, Sinashi smacked him hard around the face and pointed a finger at his nose. The gesture was clear enough. _Enough of that._ Shaw found herself unaccountably proud, despite her dislike of his violent tendency.

'He's a _strong_ one,' Atri smiled lopsidedly. 'Go on, lad, show 'em who's boss.'

Shaw chewed her lip as Sinashi walked away. She went outside, her lungs closing. David followed.

'Are you alright, Elizabeth?'

'I'm fine,' she whispered, as she leaned her head on the railing. It started. Chest tight, breathing frantic. She tried to calm down, keep it together but her panic escalated, pushed on by knowing she'd brought her son to the very culture which had created a rapist. Shaw grabbed for David, her knees gone. She clutched him. Atri appeared in the doorway.

'Eli-' he rumbled his concern.

'I'm fine,' Shaw gasped for air.

'You most definitely aren't fine, Elizabeth,' David held the bag tightly. 'I need to take her home. Will you bring Sinashi back later?'

Atri nodded. David lifted Shaw and carried her through the heat to the nearest hoverpod station.

000

David lowered her into bed. The paper bag was still crumpled in her hand. She put her head on David's shoulder and closed her eyes against the world. _So comforting_. He made her lay down, his hands gentle.

'I'm pathetic,' Shaw confessed, her lip wobbling. She chewed it to keep from crying.

'You're _human_ ,' he said mildly.

Her eyes were full of tears.

'I used to be so strong!'

'You're _still_ strong.'

She reined in her tears.

'If you were human...it'd be different.'

David wasn't sure what to make of the feeling inside him. Was it excitement? Apprehension? Grief?

'Different?' he covered her up. 'How?'

Shaw bit her lip. She sat up suddenly and kissed him, brief, sweet and gentle. He held her face and watched her organic eyes. She kissed him again. His skin sensitized. He made a soft, eager noise, his hands tightening on her possessively. His heart ignited for her, burning brightly, straining his processors, interrupting normal functions.

'Elizabeth-' he pressed his forehead to hers.

Shaw wound her arms around his neck. She tugged him down. His heart thumped. Delighted, confused, afraid, _excited_. All impossible. His eyelids fluttered closed. She shared her open mouth with him, slowly and then with more urgency. He hardened, his synthetic nerves firing pleasure signals. His heart pounded. Lines of code he hadn't known existed began to scroll faster and faster. He arched into her touch.

Shaw tugged at his shirt and he shed it for her. Her hands were all over him instantly. He squirmed, his mouth open in shock. Her nimble fingers went to work on his bottom half and suddenly, she took him into her mouth. She sucked him. She used her tongue, licking and coaxing until he bucked his hips helplessly. He buried his hands in her hair and encouraged her until the code was going so fast he couldn't read it. Something was growing inside him.

'David, I want to-' she stopped, bit her lip. She took him in her hand. 'Can we?'

'Of course.'

Tentatively he rubbed his thumbs along the inside of her thighs. He'd thought he might think only of the operation. Of removing the sticky, rotten mass from her ruined womb. He didn't. She was pink, new, beautiful. Whole. _Amazing_. She was no longer the sum of her parts to him. No longer blood, flesh and bone. Not to him. There was something that only shone through her eyes and her smile that he needed to possess. She pulled him down on top of her.

'Do you...know _how_?' she asked softly.

'I've read extensively, Doctor,' he smiled. 'But I've never. Tried this. First hand. Not with a human anyway.'

Shaw gazed into his eyes. There was no hint of his artificial nature there.

'Like this,' she breathed.

She guided him gently into her body, wrapped her legs around him and drew him in. David made a strange, strangled noise of shock as her body enfolded him. White light shot up his spine.

'Oh God, David-' it spilled from her lips unexpectedly, making him fizzle inside. 'Move your hips!'

He followed her instruction. Once he'd started he didn't want to stop. She was whimpering, grabbing him, her nails scratching his synthetic skin, her mouth open, flushed pink down to her perfect breasts. He buried his nose in her neck, breathed in her scent.

She tightened around him. He groaned, his teeth grazing the skin of her throat. Her insides squeezed, and this time the feeling took him. She yelled suddenly, arched. Then the building light exploded and for a single, glorious moment he was completely free. His mind, untethered. He floated, eyes closed in a sea of brilliance while his processors cleared and restarted. When he opened his eyes his arms had locked and Elizabeth was panting beneath him. He was still sheathed in her body and sheened with sweat.

'Did I hurt you?' he whispered.

'No,' she clung to him. 'David...I always wondered if you could do that.'

'My Weyland intended me to be indistinguishable from a human.'

He moved off her carefully. Shaw rolled into him. He stroked lazy fingers up and down her back.

'Did you...wonder...aboard the Prometheus?' he couldn't help himself.

'Yes,' she nodded. 'I don't understand how a man like Weyland could have made someone like you.'

David's face registered sweet, blissful surprise.

'Someone,' he whispered it back, his throat full. A tear dropped onto her face. 'Thank you.'

000

Shaw opened her eyes. She could hear Sinashi playing outside. David was gone, just an indentation left over where he'd lain. He'd risen recently. The sheets were still warm, bunched up around her. She was slippery and satisfied. She found David in the kitchen, methodically chopping vegetabes and piling them into a box for cooking. She slid onto her breakfast stool.

'Good evening, Doctor,' his smile contained a hint of secrecy, a measure of flirtation. It was a secret smile, just for her.

'I hope you washed your hands,' she quipped.

David laughed softly.

'As a matter of fact, I did.'

When had she stopped seeing him a robot, and started seeing a man? Why had it taken her so long to see how handsome he was?

'David. What are we going to do?'

David didn't stop chopping. He didn't look up.

'About Sinashi,' she finished.

There was a minute change in his posture that suggested relief.

'Though I'm not sure exactly what you're referring to, I expect it has something to do with his recent...behaviour.'

Shaw shook her head and smiled.

'Apparently it's normal here,' she said. 'I'm not even going into how many ways he _isn't_ normal.'

David smirked to himself and put the tray in the oven. Shaw sought his eyes.

'He's got to fit in, David. Whether I like it or not. Whatever fitting in means.'

David contemplated that.

'Perhaps we should ask Sinashi what he wants.'

Shaw flushed pink. She hadn't even thought of that. David emptied the peel into the waste disposal. Shaw eased closer. David felt her warmth at his back. He smiled and turned to embrace her warmly.

'David-' she said his name somewhat playfully.

She stood on tip-toes for a kiss. David bent his head and met her mouth with his. When he hardened she smiled against his lips and brushed her hand over his bulge. He pressed closer, charmed, fascinated by this newfound closeness.

'How strong are you?' she whispered.

'What would you like me to do?' his arched eyebrows and wide grin suggested he was eager, whatever it was.

'Hold me against the wall.'

'Certainly,' he nodded. 'Now?'

'Later,' she bit her lip. Then she added softly; 'I want to look forward to it.'

She strolled into the garden. He had to wait for his erection to go down before he could follow her.

Outside, Sinashi had found out how to use wind and strength to fire the arrow straight. He hit the yellow marker, not far from the bullseye. Shaw crept up behind him. She saw his ear twitch and knew she'd been discovered. He dropped the bow and put his arms aorund her neck with a grin. She hugged him. He was getting big. Far too heavy to pick up easily, though David could still manage it.

'Well done,' she smiled, stroking his smooth white cheek. He grinned. 'When you hit the bullseye, I'm going to get you a treat. What do you think?'

Sinashi nodded eagerly.

'Sinashi,' she said softly, 'David and I were wondering, if you wanted to spend some more time at the centre?'

Sinashi's dark blue eyes flicked up the David.

'Atri says they have archery classes.'

Sinashi thought about it.

'We'll still teach you at home,' she said. 'For now. Unless...school?'

'I don't want to go to school,' he said evenly.

Sinashi glanced at David.

'Because you don't like being told what to do,' Shaw teased him kindly.

Sinashi gave her a sly little grin.

'You don't have to go,' David said. 'It was only a suggestion.'

'I want to go with Atri,' he said then. 'I want to be a pilot.'

Shaw had to struggle to keep her surprise and dread hidden.

'Oh,' Shaw said softly. She faked a smile quickly. 'That's good. But you know...you might find something else.'

'No,' Sinashi said. 'I won't.'

000

Shaw's bare toes brused the blood-red grass from the edge of a public bench made for much bigger bottoms. She'd seen this park from the hoverpod network but she'd never had the nerve to come down here. Sinashi played with an older boy and a girl on the edge of maturity. Huge white bodies passed to and fro. Shaw wasn't comfortable. She began to regret leaving David in the upper town. He was only a few minutes away but she wondered if she had a paper bag around, just in case.

Then a shadow covered her. Shaw seized in terror, trying to control the oncoming panic but it was only Atri. He foded himself into the seat. Even sitting down he was still a good head taller than she. He held out both hands in a gesture of peace.

'Chill,' he smiled.

'You startled me,' she said.

'Sorry. David sent me down to check on you,' he leaned against the back of the bench. 'Listen. You're going to want to kick my ass for telling you this, but David told me what happened to you. You don't have to freak out every time I come near you.'

Shaw struggled with her panic.

'What did he tell you?'

Atri's eyes didn't waver. He had the look of a man who'd seen much but rarely chose to speak of it.

'That some spacejockey asshole raped you. That's Sinashi's Father.'

Shaw turned her face away.

'I'll kill him,' she murmured. 'The bloody _bastard-_ '

'Well, forgive me an opinion, Eli...but the way I see it is pretty simple. If he hadn't raped you...you'd be dead.'

Shaw stared at him.

'The Igogi consider life sacred, or you'd be dead. There's no way the Council would have let an alien creature wander about the Observatory for no good reason bar your own...very human...curiosity. You were lucky. And unlucky.'

He gazed at Sinashi.

'Did I ever tell you what I did before I became a gardener?'

'No.'

'I was military. A first pilot. It was my job to get everyone out, then back, safe. I spent most of my life in space. I got sick of the paperwork. The secrecy. I got sick of _space_. I bought my way out, and worked as a consultant here on the space station. When my brother started the centre, I started working for him with the kids. That's how I met David. He was on probation, a suspected spy. I managed to get an interview with him. He told me all about your escape. I admit I was a skeptic at first. But after a bit he managed to convince me that he was sentient. I took him to meet my kids, hoping he'd learn our culture from them. He did.'

'And now you plant our flowers?'

Atri smiled darkly.

'Yes. But at first I was David's minder. His Igogi guide. I managed to convince Ninurta to give him a chance to integrate here. Then he wrote his book and the rest is history. I spent years around space-jockeys. They're drugged sky high to keep them alert and aggressive. Out in space there's no immediate law. Crimes are hard to detect, prove and punish. The man that raped you is not representative of our whole race. _I'm_ not like that.'

'I know,' she agreed quietly.

For a time she wandered the rich, plump red grass at his side. Atri walked slowly, his pleated toga making soft noises as it conformed to his movements. He leaned his back against a huge, white tree and gazed over the park. Shaw sat on a root, tense, worried.

'You know,' he said lightly. He drew something out of his pocket. 'I came prepared.'

Shaw looked at what he offered to her. It was a paper bag. She laughed.

'Keep it. I might not need it,' she lied to herself.

Atri sat down beside her. Not too close, not too far.

'It must be strange for you. Do you miss your own planet?'

Shaw privately thought that her world had come with her on the Prometheus. How long had it been since she last thought of Charlie? A lance of guilt shot through her chest, worsened her anxiety.

'Sometimes I think about it. But Sinashi needs to be here. And I don't really have anything to go back for.'

Shaw gazed at the weird, bright white sky. Atri changed the subject;

'I thought you might like to know. There's a way to give Sinashi a normal life here, if you want?'

Shaw turned to him.

'What's _normal_?'

Atri shifted a bit uncomfortably.

'Well,' he said. 'He'll not grow to be as big as Igogi men. When he gets a bit older it'll start to show as other boys race ahead of him. Then he'll feel different.'

Shaw swallowed around a lump.

'And what do you suggest?'

'There's a stem cell treatment that would bring him closer to our genome than yours. I think he'd thank you for it, because if he wants to be a pilot, he's going to need to be as big as me.'

Shaw's saliva was thick in her mouth. She breathed out softly, controlled.

'You want to take away my genetic material, and replace it with Igogi DNA, so that my son can be less like me?'

Atri blinked once.

'It's up to you,' he said. 'But Sinashi deserves a normal life. Can you give it to him?'

Shaw shook her head. She rose quickly.

'I've heard enough,' she said. 'You've gotten far too close to this family.'

Atri gazed up at her from the ground. He sighed through his nose.

'Alright,' he said.

Shaw took a couple of steps away and bumped into a solid mass. An Igogi man pushed her and sent her sprawling. She blinked furiously, winded.

'Take your whore somewhere else!' the stranger snarled.

A big white hand sealed itself like a facehugger around her head. Then there was a thump, a grunt, and the hand released sharply. The stranger staggered back with black blood streaming from his nose. Atri snarled, his sharp teeth glittering. A low, warning thrum emanated from his chest. The Igogi weighed his chances of winning the fight. Then he cursed and backed off.

'Arrogant little shit,' Atri muttered, his hand on Shaw's shoulder protectively.

Shaw gripped her hip. It was bruised along with her elbows.

'Are you alright?' he asked.

Shaw glanced at his knuckles. There was Igogi blood on them. She wasn't sure whose.

'I'll live,' she nodded.

'Good,' Atri murmured.

Shaw tried to swallow her tears. Her body protested this treatment. She wasn't as young or as fit as she used to be. She kept her eyes down. Atri rubbed her back.

'Come on, let's find Sinashi.'

Sinashi was standing silently behind a tree, pointing his blunt arrow at Atri's bare belly. He fired it and Atri let it hit then tossed it back at him.

'Little shit,' he grunted, good-naturedly. Sinashi grinned, but then he saw his Mother's tears and suddenly he didn't seem so confident.

He caught her hand. His fingers were nearly as long as hers. Shaw tried to calm it, tried to relax. But then she started to gasp.

'David!' she yelped, as she stumbled. She gripped a tree root, her self control in tatters. Sinashi started to cry. It was the first time she'd seen him do that in ages.

'David-' it was little more than a whisper.

Sinashi backed into Atri's legs. Then he ran. Shaw tried to call him back but there was no air to use, she gasped, her vision fogging. She could hear Sinashi shouting frantically for David. Then Atri fished out the bag, opened it and sank beside her.

His hand was warm on the back of her head. She could feel her tears wetting her hair and face, soaking into the paper. She choked on her own air, and passed out in Atri's lap. He caught her, tilted her back. He touched her hair, fascinated by its softness and exquisite, alien beauty. He brushed a single fingertip along her nose, along her eyebrow. She was so beautiful. Her limp body was warm, soft. Then David came running, whatever he'd been upto in the market forgotten.

000

Shaw woke up in her bed, the drapes half drawn. David had put one of her favourite oils in the burner and left the door ajar. She could hear Sinashi downstairs, repeating the days learnings. She swung her legs out of bed. She stood up, and collapsed. The thump brough them all running. David found her there, a slumped, confused heap. He picked her up. His chest was warm, firm, familiar. She wanted to kiss him but Sinashi was watching. Atri put his hand on the boys head. He had to bend his elbow to do it.

Shaw flopped where David put her. She turned her face to him in mute shock at her own condition. His concern shone though his eyes.

'David-' her eyes went straight to Sinashi.

'It's alright now, Elizabeth,' David assured her. 'You've had a shock, that's all. Try to rest.'

She nodded, mutely.

'That's it,' David said gently, his rhythmic hand a singular comfort. 'That's it.'

When she opened her eyes again it was dark. The stars were out and the house was quiet. Beside her, David was curled up, his relaxed face pressed into a pillow.

'David,' she breathed his name. She needed the bathroom and she didn't trust her legs. He didn't stir. Shaw couldn't find the strength she needed. Something was wrong inside her. She tried to stand but her legs turned to jelly. She sank two steps from the bed with a cry of pain. David hurtled out of sleep.

'Elizabeth-' he threw the blankets off and came to pick her up. 'Why didn't you wake me.'

Shaw gripped his shoulders.

'Something's gone wrong inside me,' she whispered. 'David. Why can't I stand up? I can't walk!'

'I already ran a scan on you,' he assured her softly. 'While you were sleeping. There's nothing medically wrong with you. I'm afraid that this is more of a...mental...issue.'

'Are you saying I'm crazy?'

David thought about it as he helped her onto the toilet.

'That's one way to put it. I prefer to think of you as merely...damaged. For now.'

Shaw felt tears rising. David lowered her onto the loo and bent to look at her.

'We'll finish this conversation in a minute, shall we?'

She nodded gratefully.

'Call when you're ready.'

000

Shaw lay in bed. Sinashi sat beside her, his black eyes brooding.

'Father said Atri is going to be my tutor.'

'Did he,' Shaw managed to smile for her son. 'That's fine, love.'

Shaw tried to kiss him but a wave of nausea swept over her. In the end she tugged him down.

'You'll be bigger than me soon.'

Sinashi nodded. Then he looked at his hands.

'Why do you fall over so much?'

Shaw wasn't sure what to say.

'I-I don't know, Sinashi.'

'Father says you're depressed.'

Shaw bit her lip to keep from crying.

'Will you get better soon?' he asked softly.

She felt a tear slip down her face and swiped it away quickly. She smiled, even though it hurt.

'Very soon,' she promised.

'I don't want you to die.'

Shaw snapped like a dry reed. She hid her face behind her hand. This time Sinashi didn't back away. He put his bald head on her chest and hugged her. He was strong enough that he could slide his arms under her and not need her to lift her weight. She trembled, her whole body gone out of her control. Her boy breathed softly against her breast. She didn't know what to say.

When Sinashi had gone to the centre, David came in to offer her a shower. Her self respect already at zero, Shaw nodded wordlessly. He helped her out of her clothes and into the stall. The hot water cascaded down her back, washing away days of sweat, grime and despair. David reached around her, one hand holding her waist, for the soap.

'Relax, Elizabeth' he murmured. 'Trust me. It's going to be alright. I promise.'

He washed her, his movements slow and gentle, little circles on her skin. Shaw put her head on his shoulder. Her tears mingled with the water. He handed her sponge to wash her private parts, an act of understanding that strengthened her. Then he washed her hair, his fingers a steady, gentle pressure. He rinsed it, applied the odd gel she liked that made it soft, rinsed it again. Then he reached for a towel. He wrapped it around both of them in a moment of unexpected intimacy, his wet chest pressed to hers. His eyes were full of life. He gazed at her.

'David-' she breathed.

He kissed her gently, his lips soft, passionate.

'I don't know what's wrong with me,' she gripped his shoulders.

'Elizabeth-' he was close enough to kiss again. 'It would be difficult to find you a counsellor here. But...if you would like to talk to someone, I am qualified. Even though I appreciate I'm a little too close to the root of the problem.'

Shaw swallowed around a lump of grief. Tears squeezed out of the corners of her eyes. David sat her on the edge of the bed and dried her hair slowly, patiently. Then he slid a sleeping shirt over her body and held her. She trembled.

'Atri seems to care for you a great deal, Elizabeth,' David smoothed her damp hair. 'I wonder if you're running away from him the only way you know how.'

'Why would I want Atri when I have you?' she questioned him, small fingers playing idly with his hair.

'Your body does,' he stated simply. 'It doesn't lie, not to me. You've wanted him since you first met him, and I'm not so stupid to think I can stand in your way. I want to give you what you _need_ , Elizabeth.'

'You already do,' she whispered. She met his eyes and kissed him gently.

000

Shaw rolled over, sweaty, afraid. She didn't know how long she'd been in her room. She couldn't remember how many days had passed, if Sinashi was at the centre or in the garden, or messing about in the house. David came and went, bringing food, drink.

She slept most of her time away, submerged in a place where memories could be sorted and filed. She dreamed of the Prometheus and woke soaked in sweat, screaming, clutching at her belly, so certain she'd find herself eviscerated. She dreamed of the Space Jockey, his grunts and thrusts, his angry eyes. She dreamed of cryosleep and for a time she convinced herself that this was all a nightmare.

A knock roused her from sleep.

'Come in,' she choked.

She'd been hoping for Sinashi, or David. Instead, Atraharsis stepped inside and pushed the door closed behind him.

'Hello, Eli,' he said. 'I thought you might to sample the delights of the season,' he said. 'If, that is, you even know which season it is.'

'Winter,' Shaw murmured, sarcastically.

Atri handed her a wrapped bunch of beautiful, big blooms, the kind of vibrant flowers that only the most imaginative of Gods could have created. They were like cups made of light, shimmering with radiant, rainbow seeds.

'Sinashi misses you,' Atri said evenly. 'He thinks you're going to die. He won't come and see you. I think he fears it'll be the last time.'

Tears clawed up her throat. Atri cleared his.

'Don't you want to live?' he asked her, his direct approach like a slap to the face.

'I already died on the Prometheus.'

'Not to him you didn't.'

Shaw closed her eyes tightly. She was in pain, but it was nothing that bandages could fix.

'Not to me,' he added. 'Do you want me to go away? Leave you and your family in peace?'

Shaw shook her head.

'What use am I to David or Sinashi like this?' she said, thickly. 'They _need_ you.'

'The boy also needs his Mother. If you need me to leave so he can have you back-'

'No!' Shaw whispered. 'No.'

Atri sighed.

'Whatever happened on that ship, you need to get it out of your head. Don't get angry with me. I want you to get up and walk, and be strong again. For him.'

Atri sighed very softly.

'I want you to live.'

Shaw hid her face in her hands. The tears leaked through. Atri reached out to touch her back and stopped. Every time he laid a land on her, she had a panic attack. He left her there, feeling like he was doing more harm that good with her.

* * *

TBC..soon.


	6. Broken China Doll

6\. Broken China Doll  


Shaw's time passed in a blur of sleep and meals. Atri came to visit her. He sat beside the bed, his folded robe tucked under his knees. Shaw felt disgusting. Her hair was greasy, but she couldn't find the strength to move.

'You've lain here long enough,' Atri rumbled.

Shaw wanted to roll away from him and curl up. She hated being seen like this, but she bit her cheek in defiance.

'What do you mean-'

Atri grabbed her. His hands were big enough to hold her knees together and her chest flat to the bed.

'What're you doing!' she yelped.

Something began to tingle at the corners of her mind. It was bright and strange and _wrong_.

'I should've done this a long time ago, when David told me he planned to take you home. To a doctor on Earth.'

'What?' Shaw stared at him.

Atri loosened his grip when he realised she wasn't going to struggle.

'He knows I need to be here. With Sinashi. Why would he-'

'Well I guess he figured your health was a bit more important,' Atri said coolly. 'Keep still, you hear? If I get this wrong you'll come out of it worse than you went in.'

'No way,' Shaw wriggled suddenly, violently.

For all her best efforts she simply wasn't strong enough to throw him off. He dragged her into his lap, her head against his belly, one hand on her breastbone. He was warm. She wasn't going to lie and say he didn't feel nice, she just wished it was under different circumstances.

'Get the fuck _off_ me!'

'No,' he said evenly. 'Keep still.'

Shaw gave a strangled little gasp as blinding white light surged into her mind. She bucked.

'Get off!'

Then Atri took control of her body. It went still from the neck down. She heard him talking. His lips weren't moving. His eyelids flickered rapidly.

 **When I gained the Gift, I was told never to use it to cheat death, Eli. So keep quiet about this. You'll thank me when it's over.**

'I-I'll never thank you.'

Silence. Then searing pain shot down her spine from her brain to her hips and she screamed. No sound came out but she could hear her own voice in her head. For a blinding second of hope, she thought perhaps her reaction without throw him out of her mind. It didn't. He clung on like a rock in a storm.

Scenes flashed from her own memory. Pain pulsed down her spine to fill the scar tissue at her belly. It reopened old wounds, laying bare everything she'd seen and heard. Shaw was alone in a box made of light with nothing but Atri's disembodied consciousness. Then a door clicked open deep inside. All the pain she'd held down for so long flooded out, a tsunami of her own grief. She drowned in it, screaming, gasping in the undertow.

When she began to feel it would swallow her, destroy her from the inside out, it drained away. Atri drew it from her and retreated, released her sharply. She scrambled away from him. His hands were shaking. She sat with her back to the headboard, arms wrapped around her knees, searhcing her mind for the Elizabeth Shaw she knew.

There was no pain left. No grief either. Just a pile of weird memories from which she was now utterly detached. Atri's open eyes were bloodshot.

'What did you do to me?' she found her voice. 'Did you just break into my mind? What did you do?'

'You saw me make the flower,' he said. 'It's just energy, Eli. Just frequencies of sound. I can move them wherever I want. I've seen everything that happened to you-'

'Get out,' she whispered.

Atri rose somewhat unsteadily. With a final backward glance he left her there, huddled and confused.

'You know where to find me,' he said.

000

'Elizabeth?' David called.

His voice shook her from her thoughts. She was still in the same position on her bed. She couldn't call up one ounce of her grief for Charlie, one moment of her anger or pain. She was free.

'Elizabeth, are you in there?'

Silence.

'Atri just left. I heard you crying.'

She raked her fingers through her hair.

'Come in,' she finally said.

The door swung open. His gaze travelled the length of her, flicked to the rumpled sheets. She looked down. She was sweaty, her hair a wreck. Everything she'd taken pride in before, forgotten. She stood up, her legs weak. David caught her arm.

'Your...usual..destination is it?' he asked tactfully.

'Yeah. And right after that I want some breakfast. David.'

'I'll bring some up.'

'No. I'm coming downstairs. I want to see Sinashi.'

'He's at the centre.'

'Then I want to see you,' she gazed up at him. She pushed her hair back again. 'Jesus, David. I need a bath.'

He smiled knowingly, though she didn't see it. He turned his back while she used the loo and flicked the shower on. He fetched her a towel. When he came back she was naked, testing the water with her hand.

'I take it that whatever Atri did...helped?'

Shaw glanced at him, her dark eyes penetrating. She held fire on closing the stall. One side of her hair dampened.

'Did you have something to do with this?'

'Certainly not.'

She met his eyes, fearless, feirce once again.

'You're a shit liar, David. Anyone ever tell you that?'

'No ma'am. You're the first.'

He smiled as he bent for her discarded clothes.

'I sent Atri away,' she said.

'He's in the garden,' David spoke to the closed stall. 'I thought it best if he didn't go too far.'

He saw her put her head back and sigh in frustration. He smirked.

'Welcome back to the land of the living, Dr Shaw.'

'Stop calling me that, David.'

'Elizabeth,' he murmured, as he pulled the door to and left her.

Atri made himself scarce, though he didn't go further than the roses. Shaw watched him from a distance, annoyed, violated. She ate what David provided, not much caring what it was. It satisfied her hunger.

'Do you know what he did to me,' she said softly, as David took her plate.

'No,' he said honestly.

'He invaded my mind.'

'I'm sure he only meant to help.'

'How is invading my mind helpful?' she turned to watch him.

He shrugged. _How very human._

'Consider the alternative. A journey to Earth would have taken us months, with or without Sinashi.'

Shaw's breath caught. He heard it. No human would have.

'You _bastard_.'

'I am?' he murmured. 'I had no idea. My Mother was conspicuously absent...if I even had a childhood.'

'Don't get clever with me, David. You _never_ change.'

'I beg to differ,' he dried his hands and turned to her. 'I have changed. For the better, as I see it. I promised to keep you safe.'

Shaw fish-mouthed for a second.

'So leaving my son behind on Anatak is keeping him safe? You're a twisted little shit, David.'

'My God made me in his own image,' David smiled coldly.

Shaw slid off her stool and approached him, her eyes dangerous. He held his ground, fearless, blank.

'Are you being funny, David? I thought a sense of humour was stage one sentience.'

'Then perhaps I'm more alive than you think,' there was bite to his words.

'If you ever go behind my back again-'

'I will,' he promised her evenly. 'Don't look so surprised, Doctor. You don't always know what's good for you. Or Sinashi.'

'David, I order you to back the fuck off.'

'Nice try,' he smiled. 'You never did take that look at my programming, Doctor. Would you like to? I'm certain you'll find it very...revealing.'

'Later.'

'Now,' he murmured.

He crossed the room and picked up his tablet, activated it and brought up the relevant code. He handed it to her. Shaw eyed him suspiciously, then began to read.

It took a while. She wasn't fluent in the three languages the developers had used to code his instincts, autonomic function and cognitive abilities. He understood enough. She read until her stomach rumbled again. David put food in front of her silently. He disappeared into his study.

'Go tighten your nipple nuts,' softly, to the air.

She read it back to front, and then over again. Then she knocked on his door. He was reading, his feet up on the settee, a book open on his lap.

'What is that?' she bent over to peer at the spine.

'Wuthering heights, Doctor.'

'Where the hell did you get that?'

'The synthesiser. I programmed it with the Prometheus' databanks.'

He marked the page meticulously and set it aside. She handed his tablet back.

'So,' she said, her eyebrow arched. 'You're free. You always were.'

'Yes, doctor. What would be the point of making an artificial human...who isn't human?'

'But Weyland controlled you.'

'No. Survival controlled me. Mr Weyland was simply a means to an end.'

Shaw leaned her weight on the back of the sofa.

'I'm glad we're finally on the same page,' he swung his legs down.

'I don't believe you,' she said frankly. 'If you were free, you wouldn't still be here. Why would you stay, when you could go anywhere...do anything?'

David stood up.

'Is it inferiority that troubles you the most, Doctor? Do you consider yourself completely unlovable? I may be synthetic...but I still feel. And I appreciate sentimentality. I enjoy your company. I stay for that.'

'Someone did love me,' Shaw said quietly. 'Until you killed him.'

'I told you. I never meant to kill Dr Holloway.'

'But you did,' Shaw said.

David picked his jacket off a peg by the door.

'He was a casualty of war.'

He left to fetch Sinashi from the centre. Shaw rubbed her arms, cold.

000

Sinashi ran up the garden path and threw his arms around her middle. Shaw hugged him and kissed his forehead. It was the first time she'd smiled in so long. Still exhausted from her long stay in bed, she let David take her arm and help her to the settee. She lay under a blanket and watched an Igogi soap opera. Still she couldn't access the missing, dark part of her mind. She felt lonely without it.

In the days that followed Atri stayed far from her. He stuck to the garden, to his flowers and plants. She grew stronger. Strong enough to walk alone and make her own food. David acquired more free time as a result. He returned to his old routine. Within a fortnight she was stronger and she joined him on the lawn.

'I promised you payback, David,' she hooked the end of his stick down with hers.

'So you did,' he agreed.

She smiled.

'I'm still sick. You've got to be gentle with me.'

'Of course.'

He wasn't. Shaw was glad of it. He forced her into the trees, knocked her stick clean from her grip with a controlled swipe and pinned her by her chest, his knee between hers.

'You're out of practise, Doctor.'

'I'm not a Doctor anymore.'

'But I enjoy calling you Doctor. It reminds me of...another life. Don't you think? You could be, you know. A Doctor again. You could be the scientist who takes the Igogi back to Earth.'

Shaw's eyes narrowed. He picked up her stick and threw it to her. She caught it.

'We're not going back to Earth, David. Not yet. Not until I have my answers. Anyway. What do I have to go back for?'

'Fame. Fortune.'

'You'll have to do better than _that_ to get back to Weyland Industries, David.'

Suddenly she stopped and stared at him.

'You've been recording everything...to send back to them.'

'You're paranoid, Doctor. No, I won't be going back alone. I was thinking more of your own closure. Don't you want to share what you've learned? Humanity would benefit from it, I'm sure.'

'Nice try,' she caught his elbow with a deft blow. His eyes refocused, like a bird eyeing a meal. His lips twitched upward.

'Alright,' he said mildly.

He chased her towards the river, faster than she could counter. When she stumbled back into clean, clear air he waited for the splash.

'Very good, Elizabeth,' he bowed to her. 'But noone can fly. Not even me. Not even the new David 9 or 10, I imagine. If I go back I'll be simply...obsolete. And I have no desire to be discontinued.'

She trod water, soaked, furious. She fished her stick out of the current and swam back to shore, scraped her hair back.

'Alright,' she said. 'You asked for it, David. No holds barred.'

'As you wish.'

Her wet clothes slowed her down. Her weeks of isolation in bed had softened her. Her back wasn't so strong, she didn't have the same easy range of movement. She was as surprised as he when his back hit a white tree trunk and her stick came down, pointed at his nose.

'You let me win!' she accused.

'I didn't,' he assured her.

His stuck blurred. She countered him just in time, stumbled back and found herself staring down the business end once again.

'I think our little hobby has saved us many arguments,' he said mildly. 'Having something to hit seems to keep you stable. I wonder if you have a latent violent tendency. Or at least, a streak of vengefulness?'

She panted.

'I _like_ our arguments, David. I like to smack you.'

'Yes and that's exactly what I mean. Go ahead, Elizabeth. Hit me.'

She tried. A smack to the back of her knees sent her onto the grass. He slid his stick under her chin. It lodged against her windpipe. He leaned down.

'That's too bad. I was hoping you might win this time.'

She conceded defeat, threw her stick on the grass. He released her. His hands took oer where the stick had pressed, tracing along her windpipe. Shaw closed her eyes, aroused. He buried his nose in her hair, behind her ear.

'David-' she grabbed his hand and tugged it round her middle.

'I had no idea that violence would have this effect on you.'

'Shut up, will you? This doesn't need any talking.'

She squirmed until she could reach his lips, kissed him.

'Yes ma'am,' he murmured. He kissed back.

Shaw could hear Sinashi in the garden. Having one ear pricked for footsteps or voices just made it all the more dangerous. David pinned her to the tree, his lips hot on her jugular.

'Elizabeth-'

'Please, David-' she whispered, urgent, tugging at his shirt. 'Off. _Now_.'

He put her down long enough to obey. His smooth, syntheric skin was as unmarked as the day they'd arrived. She tugged her shirt off and grabbed him. Lifted once again he teased her with tender fingertips, her backside in his hands, his mouth on hers. He slid home, unexpectedly. She arched, caught half way between pain and pleasure. She grabbed his hand and buried it in her hair.

'Harder-' it was a mere breath against his lips.

He tightened his grip, tugged her head back, watched her eyes close and her mouth open.

'Yes-' she gasped, when he ground against her, her rippling, eager warmth pushing him toward easy cascade.

'God-' she choked, her legs wrapped tight around his hips. Her nails left marks that his nanites would have to work to mend later.

She moaned into his mouth, warm in his hands, so small he was sure he could break her. Her eyes lost their fury, she flushed, clung to him, let him fuck her. When he was as deep as he could go, still she tugged him closer, hungry for a kiss, a brush of his fingertips. His eyelids flickered against her temple.

'David-' she whispered, as her face changed and she blanked out.

She came back shaking, wet, helpless. Her body clamped down. His fingertips left dents in the trunk. Her hair was warm against his chest as he gasped and released. He held her there until he slid from her body then set her gently back on her feet. She leaned her head on his shoulder. He caught her head, kissed her temple.

'Father!'

Shaw spun. Sinashi stood at the top of the path.

'Shit!' she hissed, grabbing for her clothes.

Sinashi came running when he saw movement, and it was David who stepped out as casually as ever and caught him before he could round the tree and discover his Mother, her hair rumpled, leggings half on.

'You were fighting again. When are you going to teach me?' Sinashi bounced.

'When you're older,' David spun him around and pointed to the house. 'I have gingerbread for later. Go on. I'll be along shortly.'

'What's gingerbread?'

'A biscuit,' David brushed soft fingertips over his head. 'Trust me, you'll like it.'

'Where's Mother?'

'In the river, Sinashi,' he blocked the boys line of sight with his body. 'Go on. She won't like it if you see.'

'Atri doesn't care.'

'Neither do I, but your Mother was brought up differently. She's more private. Go on,' David urged him.

He ran off. David watched him, then when he was out of earshot he disappeared behind the tree where Shaw was struggling with her shoes.

'Nicely done,' she smirked.

'Thank you.'

'David...what are we going to do about Sinashi? Atri came to me. He offered a gene therapy that would make him less human.'

'Is that how it works? I was under the impression it made him more Igogi.'

She stared at him blankly. Then her eyes went dark.

'David. How do you know that?'

His lips thinned.

'Answer me, David. I didn't tell you-' she stopped, shook her head. 'No. You wouldn't. You didn't.'

'I'm afraid I did.'

'Whose DNA,' she grabbed him by his shirt. 'You piece of shit! What the fuck did you do-'

David held his hands up, even as she smacked him against the tree he'd just taken her against.

'Calm down.'

'I'll kill you,' she hissed. 'How could you...without telling me.'

'You'd already expressed your displeasure at the idea-'

'I wonder why, David!' she yelled. 'I wonder why I don't want my son rewritten like a line of your fucking code!'

David blinked slowly, non confrontational and infuriatingly powerful regardless. Shaw shoved him once and let him go. He righted himself calmly.

'Why the...bloody hell...did I ever trust you?'

'Deep down you already know it was the only way to give him a normal life,' David said softly. 'Will you stop fighting me. You asked me to protect you. I have, Elizabeth. I've done nothing else!'

'I'll _always_ fight you,' she whispered.

'Why?' he looked genuinely puzzled.

'Because you're no more human than the bloody toaster. You don't have any morals. You're dangerous. I can't believe I-' she backed away. 'I let you touch me.'

'Elizabeth-' his voice carried, but she was already gone, stalking back to the house.

000

David sipped a tumbler of something warming and pleasant. Beside him, Atri nursed his own regrets with a traditional liqueur. David gazed at the holo, playing quietly. Lawrence of Arabia. As always.

'I'm such a fucking idiot,' Atri mused. 'I should have asked her first. I should have...told her.'

'Dr Shaw has never appreciated having her personal power away.'

'I didn't mean to hurt her. I meant to help the boy.'

'Neither did I,' David said evenly. He turned to gaze at Atri. 'Sometimes I think that Mr Weyland didn't give me very clear definitions for how I'm supposed to behave. Everything I do offends her senses.'

'Not everything,' Atri smirked softly.

'I'm a handy consort, Atraharsis. For when her natural urges run high. She needs more than I can give her.'

'And you love her enough to give it,' Atri nodded.

'Yes.'

'Now we're both in the dog-house, pal.'

David smiled sadly.

'I'm afraid I sealed my fate when I infected Dr Holloway.'

'We've all done things we regret in the line of duty, David. I never told you half of what I've done. Out in space...you have to trust your officers. If you don't, you die pretty quick. I'm making up for my own mistakes now. That's life. That's being human. Or Igogi.'

'It seems to desperately unfair,' David said softly. 'To make someone...like me...and not provide others. A family. A society. I've never minded being alone, until now.'

'Maybe Weyland meant to make you a family?'

'I doubt it. I was a project...he'd soon have grown tired of me. Like he did of all the other Davids. I remember them vaguely. I found their programming stored on the mainframe. I downloaded it. It probably wasn't the wisest thing I've ever done.'

'And?'

'There were seven versions of David before my...construction. Each one improved upon the last. And each time, My Weyland thought he'd pushed the proverbial envelope as far as he could. I soon realised that it was only a matter of time before I was replaced. So I sought to make myself invaluable.'

'And then he died on that moon...and left you alone. And now you're free, David. You'll always have a place with the Igogi. You're smart enough. We could train you up as a researcher easily enough. You can go places even we can't.'

'Thank you,' David smiled. 'But for now...my responsibility, however foolish it is, lies with Dr Shaw.'

Atri nodded.

'What are we going to do with her?' he asked.

'Well. In my experience, two things never fail to work on the Doctor. Baby animals and anger. I may have an idea. But it's going to hurt, I'm afraid.'

Atri snorted into his glass.

'Fine, pal. I bet you I've taken worse than anything you can deal out.'

'Don't be so sure,' David promised darkly.


	7. Alien Deception

7\. Alien Deception

Midday came and went and there was no sign of Sinashi. Shaw assumed he'd taken the long route home, across the fields and through the river. She put her bare feet up on the patio seat. David's tablet rested on her folded legs. Then the boy returned, leading an Igogi horse by its nose-ring. Shaw rapped the forcefield window. David was drying dishes.

'David!'

He glanced around. Pinpointed the source. He looked at her questioningly. She gestured. _Come_.

The horse was black with hooves the colour and texture of obsidian. They divided at the tip into five noches, the remnants of claws. His mane was wild and untrimmed. He had a chitinous beak and forward facing eyes. More wolf than equine. Sinashi waited on her judgement. His guilt was written in his body language.

'Tell me you're joking. Where the hell did you get him? Did you _fight_ for him?'

Sinashi avoided her eyes.

'I told you. _No_ more fighting!'

David leaned on the doorframe. There was something off about his posture even when he tried to be casual.

'I'm sorry, Mother,' Sinashi mumbled placatingly.

Glassy, icicle teeth flashed as the horse licked his nose with a crimson tongue. A chill crawled backwards up Shaw's spine. The beast was as tall as Sinashi at the withers. Broad like a cart horse. Big enough to trample him.

'You've got to take him back,' she approached warily. 'Look at the _size_ of him. He could bite your bloody hand off!'

'No,' Sinashi offered the horse his hand and it licked the salt from his palm. 'He won't, Mother. He's silly tame, I promise. I had a good look at him before I even entered the ring. He's never bitten anyone. I can't take him back now. Everyone will say I'm weak.'

Shaw searched his black eyes. They reminded her so much of another life, on a ship, far from safety.

'That's not the most important thing here!' she hissed.

Shaw glanced up. The horse turned his head to gaze at her. She'd expected brown eyes. They were matte crimson, predatory and intense.

'Shit,' she breathed. 'What the hell do you need a horse for anyway?'

Black ears swivelled, listening.

'I don't need him, Mother. I _want_ him. I _won_ him _._ Fair and square.'

David took the horse by the ring for a closer examination.

'Exquisite,' David murmured. The horse bumped his jacket, snuffling about for treats. 'I can understand your fear, Doctor. His colouration is very unusual.'

'Isn't he beautiful, Father? He's a stallion, too. Only four. I can rent him for breeding. The black ones are in high demand.'

Shaw folded her arms.

'David. He isn't keeping it.'

David seemed reluctant to commit.

'They do have a rather unsavoury reputation. He reminds me of a book. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The headless horseman had a demon horse. It's eyes glowed like hot coals.'

David waved a hand lightly. The horse stretched out his neck. His tongue quested, almost a foot long.

'Most with red eyes are blind,' he said. 'This one isn't.'

He brushed his hand down the blank flank. It quivered. He touched the spot where jugular met shoulder. The horse folded himself down to lay in the dust and waited.

'Don't be an idiot, David!'

'It's perfectly safe, Doctor. He won't be interested in anything but rotten flesh. They use their teeth like needles to inject digestive juices which break down the carcass. The tongue is used to suction up the...pulp. They're simply the native cleanup brigade, like vultures.'

David climbed on easily and grasped the black mane in one hand. He shifted his weight forward and the horse hauled himself up. He adjusted his weight and flicked his tail, unphased. 'Unique,' David said softly. He stroked the broad, warm shoulders and smiled.

'David, watch him-' Shaw said warily. The horse bent to nibble at his ribs. David didn't move.

'It's merely an itch, Doctor.'

David eased the horse forward. He walked, turned and stopped with nothing but a tug of his mane.

'See? He doesn't even need the rein,' Sinashi said proudly. 'He's worth a lot. The boy who bet him had a knife. He thought he was faster than me. I took it off him in three moves and split his face in ten. Onyx is mine now.'

'Onyx. How apt,' David smiled. 'In this case, it might be best to let Sinashi keep him. Winning a prize like this is a mark of honour, Doctor. Besides. A reputable sale, even with the proper papers, would take time.'

David leaned down to put his cheek against the thick, rough mane and smiled. He could hear the huge heart thumping, feel the rush of blood at his fingertips. He listened.

'David,' she breathed. 'He'll break his neck on that thing.'

'I won't,' Sinashi said softly. 'I promise I'll take care of him. You won't need to lift a finger.'

David slid off the horse and landed with surprising grace on his feet. Shaw chewed her lip.

'What happens when the boy you won him off brings his Father up here looking for his horse?'

'He won't,' Sinashi said.

'Doctor. When a prize is offered in the ring, it is almost universally accepted that there is no legal comeback for goods lost.'

She sighed.

'I don't want you riding him where we can't see you. Ever. And if I don't see a helmet somewhere in this arrangement, you won't be riding him at all. Sinashi. I mean it.'

Sinashi nodded.

'Promise me. I'm going to be watching.'

Sinashi smirked at his feet. He offered her the rope. 'Do you want to try?'

'I'll keep my feet on the ground, thank you,' she said. 'For God sakes, _be careful_.'

000

Atri didn't turn up for work the next day. Sinashi noticed his absence. Calls to his apartment went unanswered. David took Sinashi outside to amuse him. The boy learned a new trick. Atri won his fights by muscle power alone. David was simply fast. He could see the minute ticks that betrayed a coming strike. He countered before Sinashi could move. Once, Sinashi's hand closed on the edge of David's jacket. It tore loudly.

'Sorry,' David said mildly. 'That doesn't count.'

Sinashi tried until he had to bend over, panting.

'Show me how you move so fast!'

'It's in artificial muscles I'm afraid,' David said. 'But I can show you how to surprise your enemy and soon you'll win yourself a house.'

'And a girl,' Sinashi smirked.

'House first,' David said reasonably. 'No girls until you're fourteen. That's the law.'

David knew something had changed. He wondered what would happen when Sinashi was up and grown. Would Elizabeth still live with him? Would he be alone?

Atri returned, black and blue, nose broken. There was a red smile cut into his right shoulderblade. The blood had run all the way to his waist and soaked his robe to the knee. He collapsed on the drive with a groan. Onyx found him there and began to lick the blood off his back. Sinashi followed the sound of his curious snuffling and tugged the horse back. Between them, David and Sinashi managed to carry him inside. Shaw found him sprawled on the cushions.

'Oh my God! Where did you find him?'

Sinashi pressed down. 'He just walked right up the drive, Mother. He must have been in a fight.'

'Is _this_ how you got that horse?!' Shaw asked suddenly.

'No! I promise. I fought for Onyx. It's just that the boy who bet him was stupid. I got lucky.'

'Don't downplay your talents,' David said mildly, as he flicked the hand-held scanner on and rolled the Igogi man over. 'You have a skill for hand to hand combat.'

'David, don't encourage him!' Shaw said.

'Sinashi understands this culture because he was born to it, Doctor. You need to accept that he'll be fighting until the day he dies.'

'David,' Shaw glared at him. 'I don't want to talk about this. _Again_. We're never going to agree.'

David read the results back, his hands steady, attention anywhere but on their age old argument.

'Three fractured ribs, a minor haemmorhage in the abdominal wall, a broken wrist. A nasty cut. A concussion. He's a mess. I suggest you get some dinner, Elizabeth, and settle in. This will take some time.'

'Fine. Call me as soon as he wakes up.'

David only nodded. He waited until she and Sinashi were gone. He mended the broken ribs with the laser. Once the muscle wall was fixed together he disconnected Atri from the portable oxygen and waited. It took a while. The Igogi opened his eyes and grimaced.

'A bit excessive, don't you think?' David asked mildly.

'Get me a drink, for fuck sake,' Atri loosened the metal belt that held his skirt up and sighed in relief when it came loose. 'And I don't mean water.'

'Certainly.'

Atri sat up to drink, his back aching. David smiled.

'Try to look sick.'

'No problem there,' Atri lay back down. 'I feel like shit.'

'That's the spirit.'

Shaw brought Sinashi up with her.

'Lad,' Atri reached for his pupil, tugged him down, kissed his temple.

'Who was it?' Sinashi searched his face. 'Tell me a name. I'll kill him.'

'You won't,' Atri said evenly. 'You take one step outside and _I'll_ kill _you_. Leave it be. It's over now.'

'But-'

Atri grabbed his forearm.

'You do what I tell you, boy. You hear?'

A nod.

'Good. Now,' he held up his glass. 'Can I get another one of these?'

'Go on,' Shaw pushed Sinashi to the synthesiser. 'Atri. I'm so sorry. If we'd known, we'd have come for you-'

'I'm glad you didn't. You'd be dead,' he smiled and reached for her hand. 'You going to call me a pod then? I need a bath and a week of sleep.'

'No,' she shook her head. 'You're joking. You're not going home like this.'

Atri smiled lopsidedly.

'Perhaps you could carry me to the bathroom,' he grinned.

Shaw bit her lip.

'I might manage your arm,' she said mildly. 'But I'm sure David can manage more.'

'You're so easy to tease,' he murmured.

Shaw hid her flush behind her hair.

'Did you win, lad?' Atri said, as he took the glass off Sinashi.

'What?' Shaw glanced between them.

'The horse.'

A nod. David listened, silent.

'How do you know about his horse?' Shaw probed.

'Who do you think tipped him off?' Atri said mildly. 'You really think I'd let him go into the ring without any backup?'

Shaw leaned in, irritated.

'You'd better tell me exactly what happened, Atri. And _you_ ,' she pointed at her son. 'You too. Or bad things are going to follow. Trust me.'

'Mother,' Sinashi cut across his teacher. 'It's not like it sounds. The boy who bet his horse...Atri just...gave him a little nudge in the right direction, that's all.'

'I told him Sinashi was arrogant...and slow. Two things he definitely isn't.'

'Why?' Shaw asked.

Sinashi was conspicuously silent.

'Because he needs to _win_ ,' Atri said. 'The more he wins, the more honour he has. The more honour he has, the better his life will be. Unless he's lucky enough to get a job, he'll be fighting for everything he has. That's the way it works here.'

'I'm going to get a job,' Sinashi put in suddenly. 'I want to be a pilot.'

Atri gazed at him steadily, a full minute before he spoke.

'You've got to be tall to be a pilot. And strong, too. As big as I am. Those ships don't come easy. There's tests for everything. Heart, mind, body. You've got to be tough, lad.'

'I can pass them. I won a horse. I can do anything I want.'

'Self belief,' Atri smirked. 'If only they could bottle it.'

000

Motes of dust settled gently in the late afternoon sun. Shaw sat cross legged by Atri, who watched the distant leaves rustle through transparent walls. David had taken Sinashi for his lessons and she was alone, watching the Igogi breathe.

'I thought of you,' he murmured suddenly.

Shaw's breath caught.

'What?'

'Of your family.'

'You're not going to tell me who did this. Are you?'

Atri managed a quirky smile.

'No. I'm not. You're going to stay here and stay safe. I don't want you involved.'

Shaw sighed softly through her nose, frustrated.

'That's...ridiculous! We need to sort this out.'

'I started the fight,' Atri said evenly.

'Then you're a bloody idiot,' she nodded.

He snorted but it faded fast into pain.

'Did you put him in danger, Atri? I don't want a lie. You want me to trust you. You need to give me reason to.'

Atri shook his head.

'I wouldn't hurt that boy. He's everything to me.'

Shaw nodded slowly.

'You've poured years of time and effort into him. Why?'

Atri folded his huge hands on his belly and regarded her steadily. It felt like he was looking through her skin.

'I loved Sinashi from the first day. He has gentleness. You rarely find that in Igogi boys. I should know. He gets it from you. Once day he'll carry that compassion out to the universe and do us all proud.'

'So it's altriusm,' she nodded. He sensed her doubt.

'Yes,' he said. 'It's because I admire his innocence. Does that shock you so much? You think every Igogi man is a rapist or a murderer?'

Shaw didn't answer.

'I'm not,' he bit. 'I've tried telling you. Tried _showing_ you. You're never going to get it into your head are you?'

Shaw pushed her hair back.

'I don't know what you mean.'

'Believe I love you,' he said softly.

Shaw swallowed hard, nervous. Atri sighed softly.

'What are you going to do when Sinashi is grown up, Doctor?'

'You sound like David.'

'You going to hang around the Observatory, hiding from the past, refusing any suggestion of a future? You could have a future here with us.'

'I just want my answers,' Shaw said finally. 'Why you made us. Why you tried to kill us.'

'You have a virulent lack of imagination, woman.'

'I'll take that as a compliment.'

'It isn't,' he said honestly. 'You should listen to me sometimes. You might learn something.'

Atri leaned over before she had chance to speak again. Shaw froze. His face was so close.

'I can show you places where your answers don't matter any more than the questions that spawned them. You'll forget humanity even exists. I'll take you through the stargates, and _blow your mind_.'

He reached up and tucked her hair back gently.

'Only a stage three sentient can pilot a Sphere. I have one. It was a gift from my old teacher. Do you want to know who made the Igogi?'

'Yes!' she breathed suddenly, curious, hungry.

'If you'll trust me, I'll show you.'

'And the cost?' she asked, her dark eyes calculating. 'When you have us out in space?'

'Nothing,' he hissed. 'I just want to see you _gasp_ , Eli. All I've ever wanted is to make you happy.'

He leaned a bit closer, his fingertips warm on her throat.

'I'll take you to meet Ishhi-Addu. You'll need your brains, your wit, your serpents tongue. He isn't easily impressed. Do you think you can talk your way to Gods feet?'

'You're making fun of me,' she accused.

'I'm not,' he promised. 'Come on, Doctor. Leave the comfort zone for once. Bring David. Bring Sinashi, if you want. I'll keep you all safe.'

Shaw glanced at his lips. It was a mistake. He leaned in and brushed his lips to hers softly, then pulled away smiling.

'You weren't made to sit at home and vegetate,' he murmured. 'You were made to go further than _anyone_ else.'

Shaw felt her heart thumping in her breast. His eyes really were amazing, and now his pale lips were wet and pink. He reached up to brush her hair back. Between her legs, her flesh went hot and wet. Her inner being seemed to pull towards his, magnetised by his proximity until she burned with sudden, primal need to touch and be touched by him. Shaw thought of David and something went _twang_ inside her. Guilt, regret and sadness.

On an impulse, she leaned down to meet his offered lips. Atri smiled softly against her mouth, pushing his fingers gently into her hair. Shaw went warm in her core.

Even though his body hurt, Atri found his way onto his knees. With Shaw between them, he wrapped a hand around her waist to pull her in close, tentatively exploring the tip of her tongue with his, intent to not rush the intimacy of their kiss. He could smell her pheromones, arousal and a small amount of fear. Still, she wound her arms around his neck and parted her lips for him. His body ached to get inside hers, he wanted to make her gasp and beg. She'd become like a drug to him, the smell of her as she walked by. He was hooked, and this kiss had been a long time coming.

'Like this much better than fighting,' he murmured, grinning against the soft skin of her throat.

Shaw didn't trust her shaking hands, her cycling mind. She heard the thump of hooves at Sinashi's horse leapt a fallen tree. Atri did something to her insides, something intense that she couldn't deny, but part of her held back like it always had.

Two big, white fingers tilted her chin up and claimed her lips again but the burning feeling that she was doing something that would bring them trouble made her pull away.

'It's OK,' his voice was soft, his hand protective in her hair.

'I know.'

'It feels like a betrayal to you,' he said insightfully.

'It shouldn't. David and I were thrown together. It wasn't a choice either of us made.'

'But you care for him.'

Shaw shuddered, enjoying Atri's gentle but firm grip far too much.

'Yeah. We've lived together out of necessity for years. I...don't want to hurt him. Not anymore.'

Atri sighed, his breath warm on her face, eyes intent on her lips. She thought he might kiss her again, but he restrained himself.

'You'll stay with him then?' Atri aqsked quietly. 'Husband after all?'

Shaw felt something stick in her throat. Something that didn't want him to let go. Something primal. But Atri did release her, moving away.

'Atri-' she tried, but he was already gone, limping down the stairs clutching his wounds.

It hurt more than she'd expected, and Shaw couldn't decide if she'd done the right thing or not.

000

'David,' Atri's peircing blue eyes flicked up to meet his. 'I kissed her.'

'Ah,' David nodded. 'That explains your elevated heart rate, and your blood pressure. Are you nervous...about telling me?'

'Of course I am.'

'Why, may I ask?'

'I know you love her.'

'So do _you_ ,' David countered. 'The Doctor and I...we have a sort of understanding. But I don't think it will ever be love for her. I killed Doctor Holloway. She'll never forget. What I want more than anything is to see her happy. I think you understand that.'

'Yes,' Atri agreed. 'Only too well. For what it's worth, I'm sorry, my friend.'

000

In a garden, surrounded by rustling red leaves, a bent old man sat on a wooden seat that had been manifested from void by one of his students. The boy was only sixteen, and already he was pushing stage three sentience. Ishhi-Addu would have been proud, but he saw such things as pride as mere distractions. One of the women from the shelter came to him, her head bound with a scarf the colour of sunset. Her skin was wrinkled with age but she was still beautiful. She handed him a message.

'Stay,' he smiled at her.

She bowed indulgently and said;

'You know very well I can't. My son is waiting for me at home.'

'Shame,' Ishhi grinned, his thick lips damp where he'd licked them. 'I should like to know you better.'

'Maybe one day,' she smiled. 'But I'll send you my maid, if you fancy her company.'

'How old is she?'

'Six centuries.'

'A babe,' he smirked. 'No. I was after you. Not your maid. Go on then, run for the hills. This is from an old student of mine. He was once the brightest I had. Now that title has been taken by your son. You should be very proud.'

'I am,' she said.

Ishhi smiled harmlessly.

'Reply to my letter, will you? Tell Atri that I will see him on the eighth of the month. Tell him also that if he brings me one of his unique...pet projects...be it animal, mineral or vegetable-'

'You will have relations with it,' the woman folded her arms, her eye-ridge raised in amusement. Ishhi chuckled.

'You know me too well my dear. Go on.'

She bowed again and was gone, leaving him to bury his gnarled old toes in the gravel. He gazed at the brilliant white sky. A bird fluttered by, colourful wings beating faster than his eyes could witness. He wished again for flight. It was the only thing he'd never done.

* * *

TBC. Let me know what you think ;)


	8. The Heartbroken Sentient

9\. The Heartbroken Sentient

Shaw lay in David's arms. Stars were scattered overhead like a jewellers accident. She watched them. David rubbed her scalp, precise, perfect. He always remembered her quirks.

'David,' she murmured. 'Did Mr Weyland believe in God?'

David thought about it.

'Yes. I'm not sure. If he did...it was more about competition than faith.'

'Do you?'

'No. I think...there may be too much scientist in me to believe blindly.'

'Maybe it isn't blind,' she shook her head gently. 'Don't you think there's a reason we survived? Just you and me, out of everyone?'

'Perhaps it was simply survival of the fittest?'

He licked his lips.

'I admired you. I haven't met many people who could take that...and keep running. You're unique.'

'I wasn't going to die on that bloody rock,' she pushed herself up.

'I thought you might leave me behind. Once again my ability to make myself rather...useful...saved my skin.'

'Yeah,' she murmured. 'You _are_ useful.'

Her hand moved softly under the sheets and he smiled. his fingertips enjoying the softness at the base of her scalp.

'I take your point.'

'What about love? Did Mr Weyland give you that?'

'Yes.'

'What do you love?'

'Children. Flowers. The stars. Beautiful people. Symmetry. Asymmetry. Difference. Faces. Industry. Discovery.'

Shaw put her head on his chest. Her hair tickled his throat. He focused silicon raptor vision on a distant, redshifting star.

Shaw tugged him closer suddenly. He molded against her, arms tight. She wrapped a leg around him and tugged him closer, hands insistent.

'Please-' she whispered, to his throat.

'I'm flattered, Doctor,' he teased.

Her lips found his. He sensed her urgency. He composed his face, put his developing sense of humour to one side. For now.

000

Atri returned and Shaw procrastinated. It took her nearly a week to find the courage to speak to him. He was weeding, his back damp with sweat.

'Can I talk to you?' she arched an eyebrow. 'In private?'

He dug his fork into the soil and followed her into the greenhouse. It was uncomfortably hot.

'No welcome back,' he breathed. 'I'm glad to see my absence went unnoticed.'

Shaw nodded slowly.

'I'm sorry. I just wanted you to know that I never meant to hurt you. I suppose...I was hoping we could be friends.'

'Friends,' Atri nodded. 'I've been your friend for a decade. I want you for a wife.'

'You've always been so direct.'

'I'm not going to make it easy for you. You deserve the truth.'

He closed the distance.

'You're angry,' she said.

'I'm disappointed.'

'Because I chose David.'

'Because you're lying to both of us.'

'Even if David was OK with it...I'm not.'

Atri pointed to her heart.

'So you'll be denying that, than? As always.'

'That's really insulting,' she arched an eyebrow at him. 'How the hell do you know what's going on in my heart?'

'You shared it with me. When I took the sickness out of you.'

'What!?' Shaw put some distance between them. 'I never told you to do that. You read my mind?'

'Yes,' he pursued her.

Shaw nearly stumbled on the flagstone outside. She fled for the house.

'Eli!'

'Don't,' she snapped, without looking at him. ' _Don't_ come near me.'

'Don't run from me!' he yelled, at her back. 'Don't you _dare!_ '

David caught her by the elbows at the foot of the stairs.

'Let go,' she whispered. For once he didn't argue.

Atri watched her with eyes full of anger. He turned on his heel and walked away. An arc of light split the air. The grass closest thinned as atoms were sucked into the void. Atri disappeared into it. David stared. He searched his databanks for any supporting science and came back with nothing. His optical sensors hadn't reported a single error.

'Interesting,' he murmured.

000

The seasons cycled. Nobody heard from Atri. When Sinashi asked where he'd gone, Shaw couldn't find a lie in her heart to tell him. He grew angrier as the months went by. He grew with unnatural speed, sprouting half a foot and became the teenager Shaw had been dreading. He took to spending time with a boy who lived across the river. They fought like two starving dogs, neither one willing to give until blood flowed. Sinashi showed a side of savagery that Shaw didn't like.

They bellowed at each other like a couple of bulls. The noise carried. Sinashi came home with rucks cut in his shoulders, one for each of Rex's fingernails and a bite that was just short of stitches. He visited his revenge with a broken wrist.

'This is going too far,' she said, as David sorted the boy and sent him home to face his parents. Sinashi said nothing.

The next time Sinashi saw Rex, he bared his teeth. His jaw snapped forward to show incisors sharp as glass. Rex backed down, and never came back.

Sinashi grew less eager to be cuddled. He spent more time in his room. Shaw wasn't going to delve into that with him. He lent Onyx to a family a days ride away and came back changed. Shaw couldn't put her finger on it and Sinashi gave little away.

'What's this?' he asked, when David handed him a glass.

He was curled on the cushions watching an Igogi holo.

'Since you're grown up enough to go off riding without telling us where you'll be, I supposed you might like to get drunk with the rest of us.'

'I would, actually,' Sinashi nodded. He'd packed on muscle as Atri warned he would. He was bigger than Shaw and David combined.

'You're clever,' David acknowledged evenly. 'Perhaps not so clever as me. If you don't stop, your Mother and I are going to have to find ways to control you. Before you hurt someone.'

'Rex made me angry.'

'Many things make me angry,' David said mildly. 'I don't tend to leave bite marks. Not unless I'm asked to, at any rate.'

Sinashi rolled his eyes.

'Eww,' he said. 'I didn't even think synthetics did that.'

'What are you going to do, then?'

'Do?'

'About your behaviour. We'd rather not have to resort to more...desperate measures. But you seem determined to make trouble for yourself.'

'You still don't get it,' Sinashi leaned forwards, his tumbler in his hand, wrist on his bent knee. 'The world is about violence. Igogi fight for what they own. Just because you come from some shitty little back-end planet in the middle of nowhere, doesn't mean I have to be just like you. I want to fight. I like it.'

'I think, you're labouring under a misapprehension, Sinashi,' David sipped his own drink. Shaw could see an edge of Vickers in him. 'You believe...that I can be goaded. I'm afraid you're not the toughest customer I've dealt with. I'd sooner treat you like an adult.'

Sinashi looked away first.

'Fine,' he muttered.

'You can fight in the ring,' David said. 'Nowhere else.'

'No,' Shaw cut in. 'David. No, he's not fighting anyone for anything. We have enough money to buy him whatever he needs-'

'I'm afraid it's not about money, Doctor.'

'No. It isn't,' Sinashi put in.

Shaw turned her gaze on her son.

'You're angry,' she said softly. 'Because Atri left us. You think you're the only one, Sinashi? How can you be so bloody selfish?'

Sinashi's eyes were black in the near dark. One side of his face shimmered with the reflections of the holo.

'Maybe he wouldn't have left, if you hadn't been so stubborn.'

Shaw bit the inside of her cheek.

'What do you know about it?'

'Plenty,' Sinashi said. 'You never saw him cry. Not like I did.'

'What?'

'Atri. He loved you. For as long as I can remember. And now he's gone. Because of _you._ '

'So this is revenge?' Shaw whispered. 'You're that angry with me?'

'Yes,' Sinashi stood up, taking his glass with him.

'Sinashi-' David's voice held more than a tinge of warning.

'You taught me to tell the truth,' Sinashi said. He set the glass down, empty. 'I just did.'

'There are ways to dress the truth and you well know it,' David said.

'Or you could just spit it out,' Sinashi shrugged. 'So it's clear.'

David knew Shaw was crying. He didn't waver from the boys face.

'You're not a child anymore,' he said softly. 'I can't smack you. Or take your pocket money away. I never wanted to do those things.'

He stood up. He looked Sinashi in the eye.

'If you want to be part of this family, you've got to learn when respect is due,' David's gaze slid to Shaw. 'Look at her.'

Sinashi did look. The tension went out of his shoulders. He looked like a boy again, his anger drained away.

'I know you're angry. I promise you, if I can, I'll find a way to bring Atri back. You have to accept that he may not want to be found. In the mean time, try not to upset her further. Once she gave up a lot to give you life.'

Sinashi gazed at the kitchen. Then he nodded. When he was out of earshot, David's eyebrows went right up. He plopped back onto the sofa beside Shaw with a sigh.

'I think I'm beginning to understand Mr Weyland's position a little better.'

'What're we going to do with him?' Shaw asked thickly, her nose buried in his belly. He stroked her hair idly.

'Appeal to his better nature. It seems to be working.'

000

Shaw began to miss Atri. In time she grieved for him. It was like he'd died. Sinashi kept to himself more than she liked. He began to take Onyx into the towns. He'd come back bruised, occasionally bleeding. His first acquisition was a crate of odd birds. Shaw thought they looked like nude chickens. Their feathers were made of thin skin. They clucked and wandered around the garden and began to lay eggs.

David scrambled some. Once Shaw was over their colour, a putrid shade of green, she decided they were better than she'd expected.

The next week he lost and returned with bruises that kept him from riding for a few days. David patched him up. Shaw listened to their hushed conversation, unamused.

His disappearance into thin air had left no clue at all as to his whereabouts. Sinashi morphed from the tender tenager she knew to a man in less time than it took her to grow accustomed to him. One night she found him sitting in the dark, cross legged before the dead holo screen. He was crying.

'Sinashi.'

He swiped away the evidence but she caught him, her arms thin against his bulk.

'Don't,' she said gently. 'What's wrong?'

'Nothing,' he muttered. 'Nothing you can help with. Unless you know where he is.'

Shaw shook her head.

'I haven't seen him since the day he walked out.'

'I need him,' Sinashi breathed. 'He'd know what to do. What to study first. I have to pass, or-'

'You will. I'm so proud of you, Sinashi.'

He smiled grimly.

'When I'm gone...will you take care of Onyx? I don't want to uproot him. Maybe Father would keep him for me.'

'Yes,' Shaw nodded quickly. 'When you come home he'll be waiting for you. I promise.'

He wrapped her in a hug and left her standing, gazing at his back.

000

The river ran unusually cold. It was a harsh Winter. The Observatory managed to remain warm enough to be tolerable, but every plant that grew there died. A decrease in solar activity was blamed and Anatak shipped generators to the Observatory to rectify the problem. Sinashi carved a silhouette against the flowing water, practising the series of movements he'd need to win every battle from here to the core. He buried the end of his stick in the dirt. There was a sudden, subliminal pop behind him.

The weight of a stare on the back of his neck. He turned. Atri leaned against a tree.

'You,' Sinashi said softly.

He grabbed his stick from the dirt.

'Bastard!'

He smacked Atri square in the jaw. His skull thumped on the trunk. Sinashi pointed his stick at Atri's heart.

'I never meant to hurt you, lad,' Atri clutched his face. 'I'm sorry.'

'But you _did!_ ' Sinashi's jaw clicked, threatening. His shoulders tightened. He drove the stick into Atri's belly, a parting shot. It went clean through him.

Sinashi stared at the empty spot. A twig snapped behind him. He spun, stick ready but Atri was far out of range. Sinashi swayed.

'Are you a dream?'

'No, lad.'

Sinashi approached. He poked Atri in the shoulder. He was solid.

'How did you do that? You disappeared-'

'I can't explain it,' Atri spread his hands helplessly.

'Where did you go?' the boy lowered his stick. 'Why haven't we seen you?'

'I found an old friend,' Atri searched his eyes. 'Who taught an old dog...a few new tricks. How's your Mother?'

'Worried,' Sinashi confessed. 'About me. I want to join up. She thinks I'm being reckless and I probably am. But I don't care. It's something I have to do.'

Atri glanced at the house. The garden was empty. He guessed Shaw was inside.

'You've got to promise me something, lad. No matter what you see, you don't tell your Mother I'm here.'

'She'd want to know.'

'I know,' Atri nodded. 'But I don't want her to. Not yet.'

000

Sinashi lied to his Mother. He took his stick and rode Onyx down to the riverbank, leaving hoofprints in the clay. Atri was waiting. He sat on a log crusted with moss. His feet were bare. There was a stick on his knees. He leaned on it casually.

'You haven't been home,' Sinashi said simply. 'I checked the logs on your door.'

'And how did you manage that?

Sinashi slid off his horse and landed in the mud.

'I know a bit more about tech than I used to. Where did you sleep last night?'

Atri smiled.

'Everywhere,' he said. 'Nowhere. In a tree, I think. Does it matter?'

Sinashi leaned on his stick idly.

'Something's changed. I can tell there's a difference. You. You've changed. Even your voice sounds different.'

'Does not.'

Atri stood slowly.

'You're glowing,' Sinashi said softly.

Atri sighed softly.

'What happened to you?'

'Sinashi. If I tell you, you'll freak out. Worse than you are now. Worse than your Mother did. Just trust me, for once, will you? There's nothing wrong.'

Sinashi shook his head.

'No. I saw you. You appeared out of thin air. You're not even solid,' the boy poked him in the shoulder. His skin was warm. Atri arched an eyebrow. 'You weren't before. Did you find some sort of...device? A phase shifter or something-'

'No,' Atri said.

'I'm not doing anything until you tell me.'

Atri stepped closer.

'I'm not bound by my body anymore. Does that satisfy your curiosity, lad?'

'How.'

Atri sighed.

'Fine. If you lose your head,' he poked Sinashi in the forehead gently. 'Don't come crying to me.'

'I won't.'

'I visited my old Master. While I had nothing better to do than grieve for the loss of your Mother's interest in me, he taught me what he would have done, if I hadn't run from him as a boy.'

'Why did you run?'

Atri eyed him for a moment.

'I was afraid. I started to see things I couldn't explain. I didn't want that complication in my life. What looks solid to you-' he stretched out a hand and it passed right through a white branch. Sinashi backed up quick. 'Is nothing but light play to me.'

'You _are_ a ghost.'

'I'm no ghost, boy. I can see the atoms that make your skin. The space between. Ishhi-Addu is dead. But it doesn't matter. Before he died he passed his sentience to me. Now I can give your Mother her answers.'

'So why don't you tell _her_ that?'

Atri gripped his stick with the same hand that had gone through the branch.

'Because even a Stage Four Sentient can feel heartbroken.'

000

Sinashi tugged his Mother to one side a month before he was due to leave. He pointed to the forest beyond the river.

'He's back,' he said softly. 'He made me swear not to tell you. So I'm breaking a vow. But you need to know.'

'What? Who?'

'Atri.'

'Sinashi...nobody's seen him in years.'

'I swear it. He's living in his ship in the woods. I've seen him pass through things...put his hands inside trees. He's like a ghost who can become solid.'

'And how long have you been taking his private tuition?' David asked.

Sinashi spun. David wore a knowing smile.

'I'm afraid that when I saw the rather...extensive...bruising you were sustaining almost daily, I put two and two together.'

'No,' Sinashi stared at him. 'I don't believe even you could have guessed that. Did you watch us?'

'No,' David said evenly. 'I don't need to see you to know what you're doing.'

Sinashi transferred his weight. One foot to the next. He blinked, once.

'Where is it?'

'David?' Shaw looked nervous.

Sinashi's eyes snapped to her face.

'So you knew.'

'Don't be angry,' David stepped into the light. 'I was ensuring your safety, nothing more. It's in the back of your hand. It'll need to come out before you fly, or the magnetic streams will rip it loose.'

Sinashi stared at him.

'You're one half blood Igogi on a planet of aliens, Sinashi. We didn't know whether we could even let you outside,' Shaw reached for his arm. It was as thick as her thigh. 'I'm sorry. We were just trying to protect you.'

'Take it out,' Sinashi said.

David did so, hands steady, a laser and a pair of tweezers. Sinashi barely flinched as the little silver chip emerged from his flesh. David laid it on a sheet of tissue paper and resealed his skin.

'You lied to me,' Sinashi said softly.

'I'm afraid it's part of my programming. Protection...and preservation of life and wellbeing, at any cost.'

'Who decides who you protect?'

'At first, Mr Weyland. Then...upon his death, I took the liberty of extracting certain passwords from the data storage brought on board the Leviathan. Backups. Of the Prometheus' systems. They contained the necessary markers, and a handy How-To file that I used to simply...reprogram myself. I believe Mr Weyland would be very proud. And very confused. I've become my own God.'

Sinashi stood up, rubbed his hand.

'You both lied to me,' he walked away.

'Sinashi, don't go-'

'No,' he shook his head. 'I told you even when Atri swore me to silence. You've been spying on me all this time.'

'We were worried about you.'

'I bet he's got one in you too,' Sinashi pointed to her hand. 'I always wondered how he could have ears everywhere.'

Sinashi strode down the bank towards the river. Shaw gazed at the back of her hand.

'David.'

'Yes, Doctor?'

'Have you?'

He hesitated.

'Jesus, David.'

'Preserving your life was more important to me than your feelings.'

'Take it out,' Shaw held her hand out. 'I can't believe you.'

'Other hand,' he gestured with a nod. 'You asked me to protect you, Elizabeth. I did.'

'I didn't ask you to spy on me.'

'What's good for Sinashi isn't so for you,' he nodded dryly. 'I understand.'

'Sinashi was a child.'

'Was,' David agreed. 'You were, until recently, little more than a child on an alien planet. A planet I happen to know quite well. I was only guarding your best interests.'

Shaw turned her head away as he cut into the back of her hand and went fishing for the chip.

'Why didn't you tell me he was back?' Shaw stared at the woods.

'Perhaps because you were so clear about your...feelings for him. I thought it'd be unnecessary information. I expect Atri will show up when he's ready to be seen.'

Shaw swallowed hard.

'We shouldn't have spoken like that to each other,' she said. 'He was worth more as a friend.'

'I wouldn't let it worry you, Doctor. Atri will be back. If he is living down there, I'd wonder why. Especially when a Stage Four Sentient could go almost anywhere-'

'A what?'

'A Stage Four Sentient, Doctor. It was merely a hypothesis until a few weeks ago, when I overheard their first conversation. I believe that Atri had found a way to alter his frequency. If I'm correct...he could conceivably be capable of...almost anything.'

'What does that mean?'

'Oh, he could walk on water. Turn water to wine. That sort of thing. It's mere science, Doctor, don't look so shocked. All matter vibrates at a given frequency. Humans were not gifted with the ability to see past their own. But I was.'

'You're teasing me.'

'There's a theory that whole universes may exist within these state of higher vibration. I found a paper some time ago that detailed a vehicle. It has no literal translation, except for perhaps Sphere. It's an intelligent engine, built from the genetic material of the Sentient, plus a few bits and pieces from rarer, more far-flung places. It grows to be part of the body, rather like the Igogi spacesuits. It's composition is quite remarkable. It can be used two ways – to alter the state of matter inside it, specifically, to raise or lower vibration. Or, to alter what's outside, to within a certain distance. Atri once showed me his.'

'David,' Shaw said suddenly. 'Are you telling me that Atri has become some sort of...God?'

'No,' David said mildly. 'There is a word for it, but again, there's no simple translation. It happens very rarely, usually to the oldest Igogi. Many die, during the process. Ascension, is the closest English word.'

'Do you think these...Sphere's ever came to Earth?'

David sat back.

'It's certainly possible,' he said. 'I'd be more inclined to believe that a Sentient posed as Jesus Christ, than a man was able to walk on water.'

'How is it you always seem to know what I'm thinking?'

'Practise, Doctor,' he smiled. 'What do you want to do? If we search for him, it's quite possible we'll simply drive him away. It may be best to wait.'

'I'm not going to chase him down,' Shaw said, biting her lip.

'It's no secret you loved him,' David slid off the stool. He kissed her temple gently. 'You might as well admit it now, for all the good it'll do.'

'I felt something,' she nodded. 'I don't know what it was.'

'Here,' he pressed his hand to her belly. 'Yes. I know. I was inside your mind, remember? Through the chip.'

'I don't want to know,' she whispered. 'But I'd like to see him again.'

'And if it's too late? Perhaps Atri is only here for Sinashi?'

Shaw shook her head.

'He can't be.'

'You've missed him.'

'Yes.'

David smiled.

'So have I.'

000

The morning Sinashi was due to depart by hoverpod for his training, Shaw was in pieces in a way she'd never experienced. Even her breakdown was different. Nothing had prepared her for the wrench, when she finally realised he was leaving. He was about to climb into the pod when a familiar presence appeared behind Shaw, it's arrival announced by a silent mood. So potent that Shaw knew him before she even saw his face.

A huge white hand landed on David's shoulder.

'I want you to take this bloody chip out, you little shit,' Atri leaned down and kissed the top of his head. 'How the hell you got that into me, I don't know.'

'My apologies,' David smiled, guiltily.

Atri passed Shaw by and grabbed the boy. He gave him a bear hug and pointed to the pod.

'Don't look at me like it's the last time, lad. You get good, do it fast, and come home next chance you get. We'll be waiting for you.'

Sinashi nodded.

'You're going into space, aren't you?' he said. 'All of you.'

Atri shrugged.

'Maybe. I'm not sure your Mother will ever trust me enough for that. We'll let you know, as soon as we get your address. OK? Go on.'

'What about Onyx?'

'Already sorted,' Atri reassured him. 'I'll send him to my Brother. He knows horses. He'll keep him for you.'

Sinashi did climb in. His eyes were on his family as the pod closed and departed. Shaw flinched, involuntarily as it turned a corner. David caught her hand, then her waist, and pulled her in before she could crumple. She buried her face in his neck. He smelled familiar. She breathed him in. Her knees turned to jelly and wobbled. By the time her backside hit the nearest flat surface, Atri had turned to stare at her.

'Elizabeth-' David brushed her hair out of her eyes tenderly. 'It won't be forever.'

'You were there. In the woods. All along. Why?' Shaw gazed up at Atri. 'Why didn't you come and see us?'

'I didn't think you'd want me to,' Atri folded his arms.

'Are you going to disappear, now?'

'That depends,' Atri said evenly. 'On you.'

Shaw found her feet. Her shaking fingers found his arm. His skin was soft, hairless. He tucked her hair back gently.

'I missed you,' it came out breathy, soft.

'Not as much as I missed you,' he bent to look her in the eye. 'Do I get a hug?'

'Yeah,' she nodded.

He was still broader than she could get her arms around. His shoulders were all muscle. His enfolded her in warmth. He closed his eyes against her temple. She could feel his lips against her cheek, warm like she remembered. His _scent_. Her body reacted automatically.

Desire fizzled along her spine. The soft pleats of his weird alien robe against her bare legs. His fingers splayed across her back, big enough to grip her ribcage. Without thinking she turned her face and found his eyes were open. Stuck like a pinned butterfly. Eternal. She forgot to breathe. Atri kissed her softly on the mouth, and waited for the inveitable rejection. It never came. Shaw marvelled at his eyes, like two perfect blue gems. The second kiss wasn't so innocent. It lasted until she tingled, until her fingers tightened on his muscles, until David smiled and said;

 _'Finally.'_

That broke the spell. Shaw took two hasty steps back, her hand over her mouth.

'I'm sorry, David. I can't believe I just did that.'

'No need, Doctor,' David said mildly. 'Though I think now might be a good time to reveal certain...aspects...of our own arrangement.'

'W-what're you talking about?'

'Don't look so frightened, Elizabeth. I only mean that the Igogi aren't typically monogamous, and thankfully, I wasn't programmed with such...limitations either.'

Shaw blinked stupidly. 'What're you saying, David? You're gay or something?'

'No. I'm not gay. I merely don't see a difference between a man and a woman...aside from the obvious physical compatibilities. Does that bother you?'

'It might if I knew why you were bringing it up right now.'

'He's takin' the roundabout route to telling you we both love you. And we're not going to fight it out over you.'

Shaw scrubbed at her eyes. 'What does that mean?'

David smiled. 'It's a shame you're uncomfortable with the more atypical relationship templates, Doctor. We could have a lot of fun together...if you wanted.'

'Are you saying...you two have sex?'

'I'm merely suggesting we could put an end to this...triangle of potential shame and discomfort by making this a more inclusive affair.'

'You want to share me?' she shook her head.

'Want to, no,' Atri said, his voice dropping low. 'It's never been my ideal. But we figured...it might make you worry less about betraying one of us, if we just called a truce...and took it easy between the three of us.'

Shaw felt her face flush and tried to hide it. David smiled warmly.

'It's time you were honest with yourself, Doctor. You are attracted to both of us.'

'Yes, but-'

Atri stepped in the way, reaching for her smoothly, his eyes intent on her face.

'It's not as though decisions like these can't be reversed later,' he said quietly. 'For now, why don't you do yourself a favour...and just...as the Earthlings say...roll with it?'

000

In front of a holo, Atri had one arm around David and one around Shaw. Her eyes met David's across the smooth plain of muscle.

'Do you want this to stop, Doctor?' he asked.

Atri's hand was warm on her back.

'No,' she said quietly, honestly.

'I appreciate it isn't conventional. But it seems...pleasant-' he stopped when Atri slid idle fingers into his hair at the base of his neck. He closed his eyes and made a little, appreciative noise.

'Pleasant,' Atri scoffed. 'We'll see how _pleasant_ it is. You two have been the bane of my life for fifteen years. I swear, before my life is done I'm going to teach you the finer details of what it means to be Igogi.'

'Yes,' David met his eyes. 'Please.'

'He isn't talking about the science, David,' Shaw said mildly.

'I know,' David smiled darkly.

Dark fell as the holo ended. When David rose for drinks, Atri pressed his body to her back, his hands gentle and warm on her bare waist where his fingers began to rub and her body ignited all over again. Shaw pressed back, forgetting the strangeness of the situation they'd agreed on in favour of giving in the urge that had been tormenting her for so long. Atri stroked her thigh softly, making her shake and grab for him in excitement.

'Are you going to run away this time?' he teased lightly, grazing her throat with his pinprick sharp incisors.

'No,' she smiled playfully, turning her head to catch his lips.

'Good,' he moaned as she brushed inadvertently against his cock.

'Do you want me to stop?' he rubbed gently. She squirmed.

'No. I'm...well. I guess I can be open minded.'

'Good,' David said mildly, brushing warm hands down her back as Atri teased her top over her head. 'I'm glad I'm not the only one.'

She didn't catch the incendiary gaze that passed between the two men, but she felt Atri reach for David and gasped when they sandwiched her between them.

David's hands were sure and steady. She couldn't shake the feeling they'd planned this. They stripped her pyjama bottoms easily, pressing her between two bodies first on ths sofa, then the rug when they ran out of room. She quivered as he kissed her. David tugged the Igogi closer with one hand. His hand dived into Atri's clothes, far too accurately. The Igogi made a strangled little noise and stroked David's back. Shaw watched, curiosity warring with fear.

'Elizabeth-' David murmured, gesturing her closer. 'Come here.'

'Oh my God,' she whispered, as his fingertips trailed over her back end. 'David...you've got to be joking.'

'I'm not,' he promised, rubbing and teasing just the way she liked until she was rocking her hips. There was something about hearing David moan under Atri's apparently experienced hands that did it for her like nothing else. She was soaking in no time, and David buried himself inside her, fingers curling around her hip bones. Shaw made a little noise, opened her legs, pressed back, her hair a mess where Atri reached to tangle his fingers in it.

'Deeper, David. Please!' she pleaded.

David wound his hand in her hair and pulled. She arched, tightened.

'Yes!' she whimpered. His fingers bruised. She didn't care. Then a muscular, white thigh appeared in her peripheral vision. 'Oh _shit,_ ' she gasped as her body cascaded out of her control. She'd never imagined this would feel so nice, but it did. Knowing Atri was deep inside David and feeling the tightly controlled way the Igogi was taking his arse was an aprodisiac Shaw had never expected to enjoy.

David's eyes rolled back. He shuddered, his waist in the Igogi's grip. Atri grunted. She felt the Igogi move his hips and David rose with him, right into her. She gasped, her hands searching for purchase as the Igogi thrust once, twice, slowly, then gathered David and her body against him. David made a strangled, delicious noise that shot right into Shaw's belly.

Her body clenched around him, almost out of her control. She could hear herself gasping, and behind her, Atri murmured a soft endearment and stroked David's perfect blonde head. Then the friction between them and the invasion between her legs drove her over the edge. She gave a strangled cry and lay panting, almost afraid to look behind her.

In the end, curiosity overrode fear. Atri was kneeling, David held tightly in his hands.

'Oh my God-' Shaw's whisper went unheeded.

David didn't seem to mind. He was smiling, his hair ruffled, his neck glistening where Atri had just bitten him, left a mark on his perfect synthetic skin.

'You like it?' Atri murmured, his white fingers gentle.

'Yes!' David put his head back.

'Nothing like riding a horse, you strange, beautiful little thing.'

David grinned.

'Don't be so sure, Atraharsis.'

David reached to grab the back of his neck, his back arched. His peircing eyes fell of Shaw, who'd forgotten her nudity, forgotten her shame. She watched with eyes black as hell, her lips parted, flushed. David just smiled. Atri wrapped a hand expertly around his cock and David's eyes closed.

'Mine,' Atri murmured, his hand as steady as his thrusts, perfect and gentle.

David's fingers went white as he gripped the Igogi, his mouth open. Shaw couldn't take her eyes off him. Magic. Atri buried his nose in David's hair, a huge hand on his collarbones, squeezing. Atri groaned into David's skull as he came, stroking and squeezing, hanging on. David whimpered. Shaw twitched. She wanted to touch him. She wanted to be cause of that noise. She'd never heard him do it before. Perhaps foolishly she crept closer, watched his mouth open and his eyes mist over, watched him come. When Atri put him down, David pushed his hair off his face and turned to look at the Igogi curiously.

'Now there's a scientific experiment I'd like to try again,' he murmured.

Atri laughed.

'Good,' he said. Atri's eye fell on Shaw.

'David?' she touched his shoulder. 'Are you OK?'

'Yes,' he nodded. 'Doctor. Are you worried about me? I'm touched. I was built to withstand more than that. There won't be any...ill effects.'

She smiled softly. Her gaze flicked to Atri. He was watching her. It felt predatory. David pushed her gently down and gathered her into his arms.

'What are you upto?' she murmured, affectionately.

'I intend to go to sleep, Doctor,' he smiled.

000

The water sluiced down Atri's muscular body, making Shaw even weaker at the knees than she had been before they got into the steamy cubicle together. With David asleep, Atri had spirited her away. Now he bent to kiss a line up her throat and pick her up off the floor. She moaned into his mouth, already slippery again. He'd only touched David, and she had to wonder if they'd planned it that way. Her insides coiled with need that wasn't just about experimental sex this time.

She wasn't going to tell David but she'd enjoyed a few threesomes before, but none that involved feelings three ways. This was different. She did love David. It was a hard won, long term love that had grown out of grudging respect. Atri was a more chemical and passionate connection.

He filled his hands with her bare, wet breasts, teasing her nipples with his thumbs as he pushed her against the wall, then bent to take her mouth. She shuddered, hungrier than she'd ever been before as he turned the shower off, whispering that he wanted her where he could see her properly, then carried her to her bedroom to put her on the bed.

He descended like the incubus of myth to fuck her mouth with his tongue so thoroughly that she arched, opening her legs wantonly. She'd waited too long to admit how much she wanted him. He wasted no time, his fingers instantly in her wetness. His kiss became more frenzied, his huge hands so strong she couldn't move a muscle when he held her firmly in place, then gently but insistently worked the head of his magnificent cock into her body.

Shaw whimpered, wrapping herself around him. It wasn't like fucking David. It felt like a non physical part of her had opened to invite him in. She wanted more than just the sex. Atri brushed her eyes open with his thumbs and kissed her deeply, watching her closely as he pushed himself in deep, then slid his hands down to pull her arse flush into his lap. She'd never felt so vulnerable or so open before. Atri seemed to be suited to this position, perhaps because he was so much bigger than she. He leaned his weight forwards, stretching her body until it was nearly - but not quite - painful, then fucked her, slow, deep and firm until she was grinding her hips against him and raking her nails down his thick arms.

Something lit inside her chest, something she hadn't felt since the early days with Charlie. She tugged him down, desperate to get closer, driven by an instinct that made her ache all over. He searched her eyes, his glassy teeth bared as he fucked her. He's like a machine, she thought happily. There was something unexpectedly and intensely arousing about the way his muscles bunched, about the way he was clearly holding back and trying not to hurt her. About the way his giant cock made her insides ache and squeeze their encouragement, a movement that he clearly felt, because every time her eager pussy clenched, Atri drove himself into her, groaning at the little involuntary ripples of her inner muscles.

Then he dropped his weight on top of her, caught her face in both hands and kissed her. Suddenly her mind shifted off his technique, off his magnificent body. If his eyes hadn't already told the story, the sudden tickle of his awareness in her head did.

Suddenly she felt like she had a hardline into his heart and sudden, intense feelings of love and a respect that was nearly self sacrificing flooded through her. She saw the flickering memories of his time in the military, the terror of missions onto Anzillu infested worlds, the flicker of the silver tail, the monster in orbit. She understood what he'd done on the ship, and realised he'd acted to protect them all, and never said a word.

Information swept in. Blue phials he drank every day that numbed his emotions and made his strong and reckless. How his personality had changed over the course of months on board the ship. How he'd come home broken and confused, feeling violated and foul, then found hope in his work with the kids and his eventual meeting with David.

And his mostly secret, until now, persistent and abiding love for her that he'd harboured all these years. He'd never pushed or really pursued until the pain of it wore him down, and this hit her like a freight train. She choked on tears as he drew his mind away from hers, then when her head was quiet and she was alone in her skin, he kissed her jaw tenderly. She hadn't realised that while her mind journeyed, her body continued on automatic. She shuddered suddenly and came around the thick, hot length of his cock. She felt him stiffen soon after, his breathing ragged as he pushed her legs up as far as they'd go and filled her with heat in a way that woke primal instincts in her, and made her think of him as _part_ of her.

He was heavy but she didn't want to move. He held her head in his hand, panting into her hair. When he moved his weight to one side, he pulled her with him. Shaw buried herself in his arms, leg still wrapped around him, reluctant to be away from him even by a millimetre now that she'd found what she was looking for.

'I'd kill to hold you every night,' he breathed, kissing her hairline.

She thought about it. She wasn't sure she wanted to get through a night without him.

* * *

More soon.


	9. Xisuthros

9\. Xisuthros

The lights went out as though a wave had crashed over the planet. Shaw ran outside to where David and Atri stood on the patio, their eyes on the ghost of Anatak that hung, dominating a full third of the night sky. The blue lava flows extinguished as though God walked their length with a fire extinguisher.

'Oh my god,' Shaw whispered. 'What's happening?'

Atri took her by the waist protectively. Shaw went warm inside. The heat of his heavy body was still a novelty to her and she enjoyed every moment of close contact they shared.

'I don't know,' he admitted quietly. 'But a planet-wide blackout is bad news in any dictionary, Eli. Something's wrong.'

'That looks like a ship,' she pointed to an oblong silver mass hanging in orbit. Atri followed her gaze.

'Does,' he murmured his agreement. 'Doesn't it.'

They hadn't been back inside the house for five minutes before the red light on the living holo screen that announced a video call began to flash. David picked up the call and Shaw wasn't surprised to see Ninurta. The Igogi governor didn't look a day older.

'Hello again, David,' she said kindly, though Shaw perceived a hint of tension around her eyes and an edge to her voice that suggested fear.

'Governor,' Atri stepped forwards. 'What's happened? I saw the power fail.'

Ninurta breathed out softly, momentarily fogging her video screen.

'There's very little time. Atraharsis, I need to see you, Doctor Shaw and David. Bring your Sphere.'

'Ah,' Atri looked suddenly uncomfortable, as though the Governor had called him out on a secret. 'You know about my ship, then.'

'Atraharsis, very little happens on this station that I don't know about. I would like to see it some time, for academic reasons, but right now we need to meet where we can talk without the threat of being...overheard.'

Shaw had never seen anything like the Sphere. It sailed out of the riverside trees on Atri's whistle and set itself down on the lawn without touching the grass. It bobbed gently when she stepped inside. It was translucent, the size of their house and completely silent. Her stomach flipped and flopped unpleasantly as they took off. She couldn't help but feel that whatever was going on planetside was bad for the Igogi, and therefore bad for she and David.

The ground whipped by at speed. Shaw hated the transparent floor. She felt like she was standing on a glass-bottom boat over a thousand foot drop. She didn't even want to imagine going into space in this thing.

'I was waiting for the right time to give you the grand tour,' Atri remarked from the flight chair, where his fingers were buried in white magnetic streams. 'Shock to the system, isn't it?'

'I've never seen anything like this,' Shaw admitted.

'No, you wouldn't have. It's new tech even by Igogi standards. My teacher lent it to me so I could get back and forth to his dimension more easily, and when he died he bequeathed it to me.'

'It's amazing,' Shaw said. 'But the transparent floor is...a bit much for me.'

Atri smirked lopsidedly and misted the floor as the craft sank towards the governors tower, then stuck to the buildings flank some sixty or seventy floors up as though it was moored to the stone. Shaw felt the tingle of the forcefield as it let them pass into the Governors tower. She felt queasy from the ride, but that was nothing compared to the reaction her stomach had to the images that fed into Ninurta's office screen. The governor flicked channels with tiny movements of her fingertips. Anatak was under attack.

'Governor,' Atri broke Ninurta's obvious concentration.

'You're here,' she said, gesturing to the screen, where Igogi men and women had been caught on the the security cameras all over the cities, running in terror from black, predatory shapes.

Atri's lip curled back. 'What has he done?'

Shaw looked at him in surprise.

'What does that mean? What's _who_ done? Atri?'

Ninurta's eyes were red rimmed like she'd been crying, but she stood as straight and strong as ever. Shaw had always respected her for that.

'We have reason to believe that one of our own elders is responsible for the outbreak on Anatak,' she said, magnifying an area of the video to reveal the silver ship. 'This ship was seen in orbit shortly before the release of Anzillu.'

Atri trembled. Shaw took it to be fear until she met his eyes. It was rage.

'Anzillu,' he growled, like that should explain everything.

'The parasite, Doctor,' David supplied. 'The one we encountered on the Prometheus, on LV 223. It was the creation of the ancient Igogi, who used it for a form of biological genesis, to populate viable worlds with life.'

'Before samples were stolen,' Ninurta added. 'By a group of governors whose beliefs were not in line with the rest of the council. They believed in supremacy, in the right of the Igogi people to control, destroy and create life at will. As though we were Gods. They experimented on our own people to weaponise Anzillu, and developed an organism that Xisuthros considers perfect. We thought he was dead.'

Shaw stared at the holo diagram Ninurta flicked up. It was a skeleton creature with a whip lash tail and a barb that looked deadly. It was ridged with spines and pits that reminded her of the Igogi flight suits, and its oblong skull was smooth and black. As she watched, it flashed through its life cycle from egg to adult and back. She went sick and cold with fear. The spidery larvae was so like the parasite the medpod had pulled out of her womb. It was disgusting.

'No matter what organic matter the Anzillu virus is exposed to, within four or five generations they return to this. Their genome is...perfect. The perfect predator. It gestates inside a living host by means of the parasite, which implants a fertilised embryo directly into the chest, then emerges fully formed. It's ready to nest and breed within fourteen days.'

Shaw's blood went cold.

'David...this was the thing inside me.'

'I'm afraid so, Doctor. You had a lucky escape. Before your resurrection I was asked to study Anzillu samples for chemical and biological weaknesses, as part of my rehabilitation. They are indeed...perfect. Almost invincible. Nearly invulnerable. Fire appears to be their only fear.'

Ninurta sighed, her energy dispondent and upset.

'The elders have destroyed, then resurrected thousands of sentient worlds with Anzillu,' Ninurta said uncomfortably. 'Including yours, in the past. We attacked the Xanthium, their ship, and thought it was destroyed, but Xisuthros must have found a way to mend it.'

Shaw was shaking. 'Why didn't you tell me this before? You knew I came here for answers.'

'You are one alien woman on our world,' Ninurta said simply. 'We do not give a stage one sentient delicate information about our past, and I didn't want to alarm you. The use of Anzillu for terraforming and genesis has been outlawed for a millenium. There was no threat to Earth, but you would have perceived one.'

'So what now?' Shaw asked. 'Why did you call us here?'

'Atraharsis owns the fastest interdimensional craft that we can draft quickly enough to follow the Xanthium, and destroy it. You'll need to hurry. It just left orbit. And Dr Shaw. If the three of you can put an end to Xisuthros and his ship, I'll grant you planetside clearance.'

Shaw's fingers buzzed, her heart pounding in her ears. It was what she wanted. What she'd _always_ wanted.

'Yes,' she agreed instantly, then she looked at the others. 'David?'

'It would be my pleasure, Governor,' he inclined his head at Nirnurta.

Atri nodded. 'To get my own back on that bloated blob of guts? You can count me in.'

As Shaw climbed back into the Sphere she glanced at Atri. 'What's got you so angry? Hmm? Do you know this Xisuthros or something?'

Atri nodded.

'I know him alright. He tried to destroy my ship. He was the bane of the core, interfering on undeveloped worlds, taking hostages he used for experimentation. I spose we have one thing to thank him for. This was his ship once, before he lost in on a bet to Ishhi-Addu, my teacher. Ishhi gave it to me. Irony, that this ship will track him down, and kick his blubbery arse.'

Atri snapped his fingers at his chair as though he expected it to come like a trained dog. To Shaw's surprise, it blinked out of existence and reappeared with a sudden pop at his feet. Atri sat down and eclipsed into an arc of light. A second later, he reappeared, floating six feet overhead. The white control streams didn't stick to his hands like she expected. They adhered to his head and shoulders.

'David...what's he doing?'

'Flying,' David smiled at her. 'Telepathically.'

The floor began to vibrate. Shaw grabbed David. At first it was nothing but a soft thrum, then the control streams brightened and suddenly the ground was gone. She was staring down at empty space, star-strewn and beautiful. There wasn't enough air. She felt empty and cold inside, the vibration still echoed in her bones.

'It's OK, Doctor,' David tightened his grip on her.

'You'll get used to it,' Atri called down. His eyes were closed but he was smiling gently at her discomfort.

The stars chased one after the next, speeding up until they flowed like shimmering a river. Shaw tore her attention away. She felt too close to space, too close to cold darkness. Atri adhered one stream to the next, like pins on a map. They held. The autopilot took control and the few streams that remained on his skin looped into his chair. Atri sat forwards and opened his eyes.

'The AI will track the Xanthium,' he reported. 'You cant faint now, if you want to,' he added, grinning lopsidedly.

'Atri...how thick are the walls?'

He grinned. 'You're going to have to trust me. My ship wont let you down.'

000

Stars whipped under her toes at a million miles a minute and the AI piloted them into a yawning wormhole, pursuing the fading trail left by the Xanthium. Atri came to stand behind her, his big, warm hands on her protectively.

'Xisuthros is a violent, sadistic madman. You stay behind me, and don't be a hero.'

Shaw gave him a nod even though she had no intention of hiding from this fight.

'There's a gravitational field out there,' David said suddenly, as the wormhole showing on the holo table began to bend. 'Big enough to swallow us a million times over.'

'It's the Northgate,' Atri said, amusement clear. 'It's one of the smallest, actually. Magnitude seven. It has a wandering range of a few hundred thousand miles. Unfortunately it's decided to pop up right in front of us. It'll only last a couple of days there, then it'll wander away again. The bad news is, the gravitational field will slow us down, but it'll slow the Xanthium too.'

'The Northgate is a wormhole? Where does it lead?'

'To another universe. You wouldn't be able to see inside it. It's a whole density of matter higher than you can perceive. If you want an adventure sometimes I'll take you through the Westgate. That one you could see just fine. Lots, and lots of doors in there.'

Shaw sighed.

'What?' Atri asked softly.

'There's a whole bloody universe out here and I haven't got a single photo.'

Atri laughed.

'You're upset because you can't catalogue the whole universe and take it back to Earth?'

'Yes,' she admitted.

'Oh, Doctor,' David said suddenly, bending over the holo display. 'You _have_ to see this.'

'What is it, David?'

'Aliens, I believe. A ship just entered the wormhole with us. They're keeping pace. I believe they're scanning us.'

Shaw went to the holo table where the scan showed a real time 3D image of a giant, rod-shaped ship. It had two flat ends, about sixty miles long, and it was flying at precisely their speed. Its hull glowed white-hot. Atri stuck stream to stream around the table, peering into the innards of the odd craft. Tiny lifesigns glowed there, two hundred and sixty seven in total.

'They're probably passing through,' Atri said. 'Must've seen us and decided to investigate. Might be we're new to them, but it looks like a spore ship. Maybe it's piloted by youngsters.'

Atri zoomed in on one of the aliens. It was twelve feet tall with a triangular face and huge, crimson eyes. Its odd, wing-like structures looked like a cross between a bird and a dragonfly, and they stood close enough for the wings to touch those closest. Atri grinned.

'It's spores alright. You'll like this, Eli. It's rare to find them in this dimension. They're from the seventh density, about as high as you can go before everything turns into formless light. They're scientists.'

'Those look like...wings,' Shaw said.

He nodded. 'Yes. More or less. Shit,' Atri laughed suddenly. 'We've aroused their curiosity. Get ready!'

The Sphere shook subliminally. A single wavering figure materialised, setting off a proximity alarm that Atri silenced instantly.

The spore was obviously female. Her crimson eyes swept them, intelligent and curious. Shaw's breath went cold and her lungs seized. Shaw got the sense the spore was watching closely, but it wasn't a fearful watching so much as intense curiosity. Her folded wings rustled when she moved, brushing the Sphere's walls. Her octopus skin flushed with waves of undulating pastel colour that morphed into pictures that played on her skin like a film. Shaw gasped as she realised; they were her memories. Then abruptly; Shaw's own face.

Atri whispered. 'She's just a baby. The first stage of the life cycle of her kind. The adults are like...mountains of knowledge, but they rarely come to this dimension.'

She made a strange sound, a fuzzy burr that vibrated all over Shaw's skin and made her feel weirdly comforted, then disappeared.

Shaw burst out laughing.

'She's left us with a little note,' Atri pulled it up.

The onboard translater pored over it for a few seconds, and translated it.

 **THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION. YOUR GENOME AND MEMORIES HAVE BEEN RECORDED FOR RESEEDING AT A LATER TIME.**

'The Xanthium had dropped out of the wormhole,' David said suddenly, as the rod craft suddenly disappeared from their flank.

'Good,' Atri said, hopping back into his chair. 'Let's follow suit.'

000

Xisuthros' ship hovered in the vast gulf of space, backlit by the frozen dance of colour that was nebula forming stars. It was oblong and many times the size of the Sphere, a great, ridged and pitted black disc that was only vaguely reminiscent of the Leviathan.

'It was a seeder ship once,' Atri supplied.

'It's massive,' Shaw said. She jolted as the Sphere rocked. Then suddenly, alarms were going off all over.

'What's wrong!' she yelled. The holo readout explained, even if Atri hadn't.

'He's pulling us in.'

'Why would he do that? We could have a bomb, anything-'

'Because the clever bastard knows I can't fire the weapons inside a magnetic stream. It'd blow us sky high along with him.'

'Might I venture to suggest-?' David asked. 'Once inside, we may be able to do more damage, more easily, than from without. Yes?'

'It doesn't look like we have a lot of choice,' Atri pointed out drily.

The narrow end of the egg craft opened to admit the Sphere. Shaw felt queasy and unbalanced as they walked cautiously down the transparent steps. The egg was a multi-storey in every direction, a hundred different rooms of weird dimensions stretching onward into oblivion. Enough to upset her already dicky stomach. Nothing was solid here, every wall was a play of semi-transparent light. The surfaces gave of a mild glow wherever they were touched. There was nothing living here. No plants or insects, no sense of an onboard ecosystem. It was sterile – but warm. So warm that she took her jacket off as they walked toward the single, robed Igogi elder that waited.

'The master was hardly surprised to see you, Atraharsis,' he said, stiff and upright even though he was well into his old age. 'But you bring an under-sentient humanoid and synthetic man? I was hoping for more than your pets.'

'Well, this is a friendly welcome,' Atri countered smoothly. 'So we're _both_ getting surprised today.'

'We voted,' the old man said coolly. 'And I was _out_ voted.'

'And there the surprises end, Escriva. I see you're still Xisuthros' lackey. Why don't you take us to see your boss, and we can settle this.'

'What is this?' Escriva gestured to her. 'Does it speak?'

'Yes,' Shaw said, in perfect Igogi. 'It does.'

'Sarcasm,' Escriva nodded. 'Well. I suppose that's a start. You're all going through decontamination before you meet the master. His immune system is delicate and you're almost certainly carrying _something_.'

He lead them down a ridgy, shimmering, wormhole corridor past weird, almost-visible rooms on either side. He brought them to an open space, about the size of the loading bay on board Prometheus.

'Stay _there,_ ' he said.

Shaw obeyed. A white laser grid shot out of the walls and scanned her clothes. They turned to ash which was sucked away into the vents in an upward flurry. She closed her eyes. She didn't want to see their host naked. The laser tingled as it mapped her skin, fat, muscle and bone.

'Cancerous cells present in zones A, C, H,' said a computer. 'Request permission to terminate.'

'You might as well,' Escriva said tiredly. 'Restore the genome while you're at it. Perhaps it will boost her intelligence.'

Shaw's belly tingled, then the right side of her chest and finally, deep inside her head, something fizzled and died. She bent over, panting.

'Elizabeth-' David caught her tenderly.

'What's he doing to me!?'

'Giving you back a few years,' Escriva said evenly. 'It's not like it matters. Your lives are so transient, compared to ours.'

Living oil emerged from the floor and rose to cover her nudity. It slithered up her skin like a thousand unholy slugs, bonded to her DNA. She shuddered in disgust. When she looked down, she was covered ankles to wrists to neck in a living black slick.

'You may command it,' Xisuthros said. His own morphed into the grey robe he'd been wearing before.

'That might be asking a bit much of them,' Atri said, as his own reduced to the familiar pleated robe, waist to ankles.

'Mmm,' was all Escriva said, unhappily.

Shaw found her balance.

'David-' she laid a hand on her belly. Something felt different inside, but she couldn't put her finger on what had changed.

'It's alright, Doctor.'

She nodded, to comfort herself. She had the feeling something deep had changed. Atri spread a hand across her back and her suit morphed into a grey flight suit.

'How did you do that?'

'Later,' he murmured.

David smiled as his suit took the form of an Igogi flight suit. Shaw followed their group out of the decontamination chamber and into the control room. Silvery creatures, smooth and humanoid like miniature, muscular Igogi went about.

'Pay them no mind,' Xisuthros said. 'They're automatons. This is a research vessel, first and foremost. So. What madness overcame you that you thought following our craft would be wise? If you bring bombs or devices of destruction, you should know we'll find them long before you get chance to use them. Did Anatak send you?'

'Unless you want to answer for the release of Anzillu, you might want to shut your mouth, Escriva, and take us to Xisuthros.'

'So you come on the command a _higher authority_ ,' he mocked. 'Very well. Have it your way. But know the master isn't _well.'_

Two ornate doors ground open by means of an unseen mechanism. Shaw shivered in the sudden cold. Whoever this Xisuthros was, he liked his space chilly. Escriva walked in behind them, toying with his robe, tidying himself as though he was anxious.

The fish bowl was the size of a car, transparent, though Shaw wished it wasn't. Xisuthros lay like a gutted, bloated whale carcass, his insides visible through the thin membrane that covered his belly, under cybernetic implants that glowed in the dim light. His flesh was the colour of fresh fat, yellow and white, blotched and foul. He had five or six extra chins, and enough belly fat to burn for a year, but he was unmistakeably an Igogi man.

'Does it grow?' he whispered, his voice filling the chamber, deep and guttural. 'Escriva. _Tell_ me.'

Escriva bowed. 'Yes, master. Rapidly.'

'B-Bring me-' Xisuthros panted as though he couldn't breathe past his immense weight. 'Samples!'

'First you have visitors, master. Atraharsis, your pupil's latest pet project.'

'Ishhi-Addu,' Xisuthros grunted, his pink eyes firing up like hot coals courtesy of the wires that looped in and out of his skull. 'That... _traitor_!'

Atri rumbled a warning growl, his fists clenching.

'And he brings you two new toys, master. A human woman and a synthetic man.'

Xisuthros' huge, fat head moved. He looked down at Shaw and licked his lips. Her blood froze. Her breath fogged, her fingers went cold.

'They're _mine_ ,' Atri growled out. 'You won't touch them. You've become a bloated beast, Xisuthros. Last I saw you, you were still standing upright like a real man.'

Escriva made a noise of surprise and stepped forwards to silence Atri, who held a hand out to gesture him. _Don't bother._

'What's this? I smell...recombinant tissue, you crossed your living body with Anzillu and got _this._ That's disgusting.'

'What would you know of it!' Xisuthros snapped, his flaccid, bulbous cock shifting against the glass as he struggled to breathe. Shaw felt ill. 'I was goi-' he heaved a big breath with much effort. 'Going to offer you a deal, but clearly you don't want one!'

'I'll hear your deal,' Atri agreed, folding his arms.

'You wanted answers,' Xisuthros turned his lascivious red eyes back to Shaw. 'I can give them to you. You wanted a real heart,' he smiled at David, his off-center teeth making his face look a twisted mess. 'A real, beating, human heart, feelings, sentience...I can give you that, David. Atraharsis. I have someone here you've been dying to meet for...' he gasped. 'For some time.'

The door at the far end of the room hissed open. In walked an Igogi woman, an infant in her arms, her dark eyes focused inexorably on Atri, who spun like a deer in headlights, his mouth open, eyes full of pain.

'Nisaba,' he whispered, his fists unclenching, his whole body suddenly reading defeat as though it was a pheromone, seeping through every pore.

She walked slowly to his side, her Mona Lisa smile never wavering.

Atri's hands trembled where he touched her arms, his fingers tightening perceptibly. Nisaba moved into his grasp, holding up the bundle between them, who put up a chubby white flagpole arm and waved, fingers clenching. Something dark shot through Shaw. Pain she'd never expected. If this was a wife he'd lost, he'd never told her. What else had he kept silent?

Atri seemed lost in her face, one hand wrapped around the baby's.

'You're dead,' he whispered. 'I watched you bleed out. You're...not real.'

'I'm very real,' she promised, smiling, putting her hand against his as though it'd prove her solidity.

Then Atri took a step back to stare past her, at Xisuthros, who watched hungrily from his bowl, his eyes on fire with glee.

'What did you do to her?' he demanded.

'David!' Shaw said suddenly, pointing at the wall, where a tiny dot of light streamed photons at the right angle to create a hologram where Nisaba stood. 'Look. There.'

David followed her line of sight. 'A solid state hologram,' he whispered knowingly.

He grasped a piece of pipework from the wall and pulled it loose with inhuman strength. Xisuthros was so wrapped up in Atri's confusion that he turned too slowly to see David hurl the pipe at the holo projector. It shattered like glass and Nisaba flickered and failed, her smiling face persisting for a moment like a ghost, before she was gone and Atri yelled; 'NO!'

'Atri,' Shaw snatched his hand, tugging him back. 'It's not real.'

'Is it not?' Xisuthros smiled like the cheshire cat. 'I have her DNA profile. How else could I build her hologram? I could re-engineer her for you, Atraharsis. Just imagine. Your wife back. Your baby girl.'

Atri's barrel chest was heaving. His eyes were full of water and rage, the sort Shaw had never seen on his face before.

'It'd be nothing but a _LIE!_ ' he roared, his hand closing on Shaw's forearm.

She felt an awful tug at her midsection, something unnatural. Then David magnetised to Atri's outstretched palm and for a second she was in free fall. Shaw screamed as the world swirled around her, colours blending into a paste of reality. Then she hit the deck in a barren black corridor with Atri on top of her. He trembled in rage and pain.

He rolled onto his side with a wince, clutching his guts like he wanted to hurl. Before Shaw could saw a word, he rose like an angry storm, his eyes so black he looked inhuman, and turned his dark attention to the nearest control panel. He descended on it, glassy teeth bared.

'What're you doing?' Shaw grasped his shoulder.

'Revenge,' he said darkly. 'A dish best served...radioactive. Get ready to run,' he touched her cold fingers briefly, his eyes flicking up to hers.

'You're going to blow the ship up?'

'Yes. I'm going to blow his ship up. Sky high. To Kingdom Come. Easy when you're inside the walls. I bet he never thought I'd surpass him, that I'd own the sentience he's been trying to INFECT HIMSELF WITH!' Atri punched the panel so hard it flickered, then went to work, biting his lip until blood welled, fingers flying over the buttons.

Atri bent down and kissed her hotly on the mouth. She smelled his skin and tasted his tongue and realised she'd become addicted to him.

'This way,' he tugged her. 'Time to put a match to his plans. You got it all, David?' he called.

As they rounded the next corner, David unplugged himself from an access panel, smiling.

'I believe so, yes. The AI was surprisingly cooperative.'

'Yeah. The Sphere has that effect. It say anything about a cure?'

David nodded, tapping his temple. 'All in here, Atraharsis. Shall we? I believe we have less than three minutes.'

Shaw ran, her lungs burning, legs aching. David strode ahead, not sweating, not breathing, his body a perfect, streamlined machine. He slammed the landing bay door shut behind them and Shaw skidded to a stop behind Atri, who flung out both hands suddenly to stop them.

'Wait!' he commanded. 'Something's here. I can smell it. Like...burning rot...and acid.'

David scanned the dark, his circuits fizzing. Shaw felt the shadow move behind them. her skin sensitized and suddenly she felt sick with atavistic fear.

'You open the doors, David? In the med lab?' Atri asked nervously.

'No, I don't believe I did,' David said.

'Their experiment got out,' Atri said.

Shaw felt her backbone go soft as a shadow crossed between them and the Sphere, which glowed dimly as though it was idling. Then a black dragon burst out of the dark and dived at the transparent entryway, seeking asylum on the only ship that had any chance of leaving. The Sphere repelled it. It screeched, writhing on the floor in shock, tail lashing, then turned its eyeless head inexorably to Atri and Shaw.

Atri's breath came unsteady, his whole body on fire with fear. He could feel Shaw at his back, David at his side. He calculated the distance into the Sphere, wondered at the damage another teleportation so soon would do to him. They were running out of time.

He grasped both hands and concentrated, his stomach somersaulting horribly as the world melted. He prayed the Sphere would remember to admit Shaw and David, and opened his eyes as the world solidified to the belly of his ship. Shaw threw up on the polished floor. David sat up, dishevelled.

Atri groaned, rolling onto his hands and knees. He couldn't shake the horrible fear that there was one inside the Sphere but there was no time to check, however unlikely. The dragon battered itself on the transparent hull, confused, then opened its mouth to spit acid. Atri almost vaulted into the flight chair, determined to get his hard won ship, Ishhi's legacy, as far from Anzillu as he could.

He felt like he was going to pass out, his spine was on fire, his nerves frazzled. His guts ached and twisted. He snatched the control streams from their anchors and shot for the sky. As he sped towards the exit, the closed metal hatch getting inexorably closer, he willed the Sphere to find a way to open the Xanthium's landing bay doors. Just as the red light began to flash on the console, warning him of an impending impact, the catches released.

The little holo readout that David bent over, watching anxiously, read an exact, hacked copy of the Xanthium's AI.

 **LOCKDOWN COMPLETE**

The computerised Xanthium's voice reported.

 **ESCAPE PROTOCOLS DISABLED.**

 **MEDBAY CONTAINMENT DISABLED.**

 **CENTRAL OBSERVATORY ESCAPE HATCH SEALED.**

 **SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCE ACTIVATED. DETONATION IN**

 **TEN. NINE.**

Atri smacked his hand down on the acceleration, speeding away towards the vortexing blue light of the wormhole as the Xanthium's signal stuttered, breaking up with distance.

 **FIVE. FOUR.**

Atri unmisted the Sphere's walls.

'We did it,' Shaw said suddenly.

'Sayonara, Xisuthros,' Atri rumbled, his face twisting into a grotesque smile.

 **THREE. TWO.**

The Xanthium exploded, fire expanding uniformly into a sphere that glowed white hot, hurling debris into the range of his scanners. Atri steered the Sphere into the wormhole before the first shockwave could arrive. His heart thumped on his ribs painfully. He felt nauseous.

'Oh God, your eyes,' Eli turned his head. He'd be battered and bloodshot, he knew. 'You're bleeding,' she added, touching the cold trickles of blood coming from his ears.

'It's only blood,' he said, setting the autopilot hastily and climbing out of the chair, his legs like limp noodles. He made it three steps and collapsed against the holo readout. He heard Eli yell his name, then nothing but darkness and the ghost of Nisaba's face on the inside of his aching eyes.

* * *

A/N - Nearly there now. Bit more to go.


	10. Anzillu

Dark Paradise 10 – Anzillu

Shaw and David watched nothing but holo news for days, keeping track of the Anzillu outbreak on Anatak. Shaw was exhausted but she stayed by Atri's bedside, praying and praying he'd wake up. She whispered to him about memories of their earlier times when Sinashi was a baby. She missed Sinashi more than ever, even when he began to check in daily by video phone. Shaw cried whenever he rang off.

Then the army contained the outbreak and bit by bit, an inch of ground at a time, Anatak began to recover. She watched the footage of bony Anzillu blown apart by strange sound canons, their acid blood fizzling on the inside of hastily erected dome shields.

Ninurta finally came to visit, apologising for the delay. She looked as tired as Shaw felt.

'Governor,' David greeted her warmly.

'Hello David,' she smiled, giving him a fond embrace. 'Dr Shaw. How is he?'

'Still asleep,' Shaw said quietly.

'Very normal. He performed two extraordinary feats of advanced sentience in one day. I admit we had no idea he could teleport, but other sentients have gained the ability before, though it's very rare. It's remarkable, and it certainly saved your lives _and_ ours. When he wakes, he'll be honoured as a hero. And we followed the coordinates you provided, David, and found the debris. The Xanthium is confirmed destroyed.'

Shaw rubbed Atri's white, limp hand pensively. His skin was so warm. She missed him more than ever. All she wanted was to see his pristine blue eyes open.

'Even after all this, Doctor,' David said to her quietly. 'You never got your answers.'

'Perhaps this will illuminate you,' Ninurta handed her a tablet loaded with data. Shaw flicked through it, scanning titles and annotations in surprise. 'It appears that for all Xisuthros was utterly insane, he was a thorough scientist. He and the elders and their team of researchers documented everything closely, including their involvement with Anzillu.'

'Why did they release it?' Shaw asked quietly. 'To destroy their own people...they'd have to be truly mad.'

'I haven't read it all yet, but I believe they felt we'd betrayed them by failing to use our full power. But I would argue that restraint is part of sentience. Xisuthros wanted to be a God, Dr Shaw. To an extent, he managed it. I think you can take comfort in what you've achieved,' Ninurta leaned over and flicked the tablet to a star map, zoomed in and gestured.

'Earth,' Eli whispered. 'Earth was his next target. This can't be. Why would he do this?'

'According to the ships logs, he programmed that in just after you left his observatory chamber.'

'This says... _reseeding_. He was going to wipe us out just to put some organism he'd created on our planet? Arbitrarily...' Shaw shook her head, her throat closing in disgust and fear. 'I'm glad he's dead,' she said coldly.

Shaw felt a vile sense of ugly betrayal stir in her guts. Xisuthros had taken one look at her, and decided to wipe out her race. It made her furious. _Just like the Promethean Engineer_ , she thought, the mad soldier who'd turned the ship towards Earth to complete a mission two millennia old. Ninurta's voice cut through her thoughts.

'I've given instructions for Earth to be registered as a sentient world. That's not to say we'd engage in open communication yet, but you can be assured that there will be no sanctioned military strikes on Earth now. Not from us.'

Eli put the tablet down.

'So we convinced you we're not mindless animals?' she teased.

The Igogi governor smiled. 'Yes. For now.'

'Thank you,' Shaw smiled. 'Really. Thank you. I didn't exactly get my answers, no...but at least I'm starting to understand a bit. I guess every race has its mad dogs.'

Ninurta nodded. 'After twenty five thousand years in this body, Dr Shaw, I can tell you you're absolutely right.'

'So. What now?' Shaw asked her. 'David?'

'The infestation is clearing. We'll mop up, as we've always done, and swallow the loss of life as bravely as we can. Then you can have your planetside clearance. I imagine that'll keep you busy for the rest of your natural life,' Ninurta teased.

Shaw agreed. 'I think it might.'

000

Atri pottered around the garden, his familiar skirt swapped for a lighter summer toga that made him look like a pale roman God. Shaw fussed over him, worrying that he was up and about too soon, until he tugged her down into the grass and kissed her, his warm hands glorious in her hair, his familiar breath hot in her mouth. She couldn't help but feel like she'd come home. Seeing him wake up had been the happiest moment she could remember for a very long time.

'Stop, will you?' he teased, nuzzling her bare throat. 'You're acting like my Mother.'

'I'm just-' Eli gasped as he bit her gently. ' _Worried_ about you-'

'I'm fine,' he licked the hickey was busy giving her, filling her with liquid need and even more urgent love for him. 'You just want to get on with your new job. Bloody planetside clearance. Now all you want to do is go exploring, so you need me to get better.'

Shaw poked him in the ribs. 'That's not true!'

He grinned at her. Then he dropped his head and took her mouth, a thorough, burning kiss that left her breathless. Twice she'd seen him do the same to David. The arrangement she'd thought was utterly weird at first had grown on her. Now it made her feel part of a more secure group. She liked it.

'Doesn't matter,' he murmured, touching her belly gently. Shaw bit her lip, tingling inside, her skin suddenly on fire. She hadn't told him, but she couldn't shake the feeling he already knew. Whatever Escriva had done to them on board the Xanthium, it had done more than eradicate ill health from her system for the sake of the biological threat to Xisuthros. 'I love you anyway,' his fingers slid under her shirt to touch the skin right over her womb. 'Both of you.'

'I was going to tell you,' Eli said softly, her eyes filling with tears.

'I know,' he smiled, pressing a kiss to her caesarean scar gently. 'Doesn't matter now. I've got a good sense of smell, Eli.'

She pulled him down, arms winding around his neck, her heart full. Charlie's ghost seemed to hover over them, watching from the other side. She hoped he'd be happy for her, but either way, she was happy for herself. Something shifted inside her as she lay in Atri's arms, her legs wrapped around him even though they were fully clothed. Charlie didn't disappear from her past, but the future yawned open.

'This time,' she smiled. 'Hopefully no four year sleep.'

'Mmm,' he nodded fervently. 'No, I'm not waiting four years, love.'

Eli kissed his inviting lips, vaguely aware of David standing over them.

'Wonderful news, Doctor,' David said, holding a tray of drinks. 'I do love children.'

000

David reclined on the living room cushions, Lawrence of Arabia playing quietly in the background. Eli slid into his embrace with a smile and let him hold her. His hands were warm and familiar, like a home away from Atri, who seemed content to put dinner together in the kitchen while he watched them snuggle.

'So,' she said quietly. 'When the baby comes we'll have our hands full all over again. But what then? What about after?'

'You always wanted to be the first human being on Anatak, Doctor,' David prompted.

'Are you going to come with me? We need to find a way to get the data back to Earth.'

'Somehow, I suspect that wasn't part of the Governor's bargain,' David said drily.

'No, but...David, this is too important!'

'Maybe,' he said lightly. 'On the other hand, Elizabeth, enlightening Earth as to our condition...that is...our being _alive_...in fact may not be our wisest move. They would certainly come looking for me, and the data I contain.'

'You mean Weyland corporation would.'

'Yes,' he agreed. 'It may be simply too dangerous.'

'Well. Whatever we do with the data, we can study them, can't we?'

'Of course, Doctor.'

Eli smiled.

'Alright,' she agreed. 'We'll think about the rest later.'

She settled into the now familiar film, content and excited about the future.

* * *

 **A/N - Well, this story has sat on my computer for more than two years after its first incarnation. Editing it like this was a snap decision, and it didn't take me as long as I expected. I hope if you got this far that you enjoyed the ride, and I'm delighted to say I've actually finished the story to a standard I'm fairly happy with. It's great to have a whole fanfic up on here rather than a work in progress.**

 **Many thanks to my readers, without whom writing would only be a fraction of the fun and thanks to those who reviewed Butterflies in its original form.**

 **Feedback, as always, is appreciated.**


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